Evening star., 1946-02-04
|Yamashita' S Appeal
Denied by High Court
In 6-to-2 Decision
Murphy and RutIedee
Dissent; jap General
Loses on All Points

Ine supreme Court, in a 6-2
decision, refused today to save
japanese Gen. Tomoyuki Yama-
shita from death on the gallows.
Chief Justice Stone delivered the
courts decision, with Justices
Murphy and Rutledge dissenting.
Justice Jackson, chief American
prosecutor at Nuremberg. did not
take part In the case.
The court pverruled Yamashita
on all points.
Justice Stones 7,0Oo-word opinion
declared:
ut appears that the order con-
vening the commission (of five
generals who tried Yamashita) was
q lawful order, that the commits
sion was lawfully constituted, that
petitioner CYamashita) was charged
With violation of the laws of war
and that the commission had au-
thor1ty to proceed with the trial
and in doing so did not violate any
military. statutory or constitutional
command"
Authority Denied by General.
Yamashita was convicted by the
American Military Commission in
Manila Of condoning uncounted
atrocities by his occupying troops in
the Philippines. The commission
named by 1t Gen. Wilhelm D. Styer
handed down its misunderstanding
hanging for Yamashita-last Decem-
Der Z, the fourth anniversary of Pearl
Harbor.
The enemy general was the first
Pacific war leader to be tried as q
war criminal. In appealing to the
Supreme Court, he contended the
military commission did not have
authority to try him.
Justice Stone said:
I'VE have considered, but find il
unnecessary to discuss other con.
'tentions (by Yamashita) which W,
flnd to be without merit.
I'VE, therefore, conclude that the
detention of the petitioner for tria
and his detention upon his convic.
ton, subject to the prescribed re.
view by the military authorities
were lawful, and that his petition
for certiorari (asking the Supreme
Court to review action of the Phil
ippines Supreme Court in refusine
him a writ Of habeas corpus), and
his petition for leave to file In this
court petitions for writ of habeas
corpus and prohibition should be
and they are denied"
Case Argued for 81 Hours.
The Japanese protested that my
conscience is clear" He was locked
in Manila prison while three of
the American Army attorneys who
defended him before the commits
sion were flown to Washington to
argue his appeals.
The three and Government coun-
sci argued the unprecedented case
before the Supreme Court for 5k
hours-almost twice the time al
lotted for argument of usual cases
Murphy Cites Lack of Precedent.
In his dissenting opinion, Justice
Murphy, former High Commissions,
of the Philippines, said:
The only conclusion can draw
is that the charge made against the
petitioner is clearly without prece.
dent in international law or in the
annals of recorded military history
This is not to say that enemy COM
manders should escape punishment
for clear and unlawful failures to
prevent atrocities. But that punish
ment should be based upon charges
fairly drawn in light of established
rules of international law and rec
ognized concepts of justice.
But the charge in this case, as
previously noted, was speedily drawn
and filed but three weeks after the
petitioner surrendered. The trial
proceeded with great dispatch with