Evening star., 1947-04-02
Justice Pledges
Quick Action in
Veterans Cases
Luws Says Agencies
To Cooperate in PIon
For Aiding Accused

10 cooperate IN Plun
For Aiding Accused
Speedy action to put into effect a
new procedure for obtaining more
information about accused veterans
before trial was promised by Chief
Justice Bolitha j. Laws of District
Court today, in the wake of an
agreement by all the affected Gov
ernmens agencies that they will CO.
operate in the program.
At the same time, Justice Laws
announced Attorney General Clark
will be asked to meet with a COM
mittee to work on a bill to provide
for the commitment in special in
stitutions of accused persons who
are emotionally unstable but not
legally insane The bill would be
Nationwide in scope and would
not be limited to veterans.
After conference yesterday with
representatives of District legal cir
cles. the armed forces, Veterans
Administration and Justice Depart
ment, Justice Laws announced the
major objectives had been accom-
plished in the program he spear
headed to learn which veterans
are victims of the war"
Agree on QUESTIONABLE.
Principal accomplishment was an
agreement by all parties on ques-
tfonnaire which will be sent by the
court to the Veterans Administra-
tion and the armed forces in all
cases involving veterans The ques-
tionnaire will ask this information ::
Period of the veterans service,
whether he was at any time a
prisoner of the enemy, whether he
was hospitalized or treated during
service for combat injuries, non-
combat injuries, disease or abnor-
NAL mental condition; whether he
was hospitalized after his discharge
and II so, where and when.
The conference, said Justice Laws,
agreed this screening information
should be obtained before trial and
should be requested by the court.
Under the procedure that will be
set up, the court will be informed
that the accused person is veteran
through questionnaire to be used
by all arresting agencies.
Informa ton Sought.
This QUESTIONABLE will ask the
accused persons name, home ad-
dress. rank or rating in the service,
branch of service, service serial
number, whether the veteran has
filed claim with the Veterans
Administration and what his claim
number is, his date of entry into the
service and date of separation and
whether he was discharged for
medical reasons.
The suggestion that the question
naire ask the type of discharge was
vetoed because of the danger it
might reveal dishonorable dis
charge and thus be discriminating
to the veteran on trial.
Justice Laws emphasized that
both the police and screening"
questionnaires contained no requests
for information that might indicate
wrong-doing.
The jurist said one Of the most
encouraging things to come out OF
the conference was the fact that the
representative of the Veterans
Administration, the armed forces
and the Maritime Commission all
definitely and unequivocally COM
mitted themselves" to supply the
answers to the questions promptly.
Answers Available.
Once the answers are received,
Justice Laws said, they will be made
available to the prosecutor and to
the counsel for the defense. If the
defense counsel believes the answers
indicate the defendants crime can be
traced to his war experiences, he
can get permission to look at the
veterans full record by obtaining
the veterans consent or by asking
the court to subpoena the record.
In the latter case, Justice Laws ex-
planned, the court would have to
pass on whether the material is
confidential.
Justice Laws said the question
naire system would go into effect
very shortly''-as soon as the other
Judges have been consulted and the
missionaries can be printed.
As another outgrowth of the con-
ference, Justice Laws said all the
representatives agreed that institu-
tional facilities now are not avail
able for the best handling OF many
of these cases and the courts are
further handicapped by their inabil-
ttv to commit veterans who are
emotionally upset but not legally in
sane.
Defect" in the Law.
This twin problem will be taken te
the Attorney General by Superln-
tendent Winfred Overholser OF st
Elizabeths Hospital; E. E. Odom
solicitor of the Veterans Admins
tration. and James V. Bennett, direc-
tor of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
DR.. Overholser explained the Fed,
eral law now recognizes no middle
ground between the wholly sane ane
the wholly insane. This defect" II
the law, he said, means that person.
are locked up either with the in
sane or with criminals when the.
should be sent to another type o.
institution.
Justice Laws said he feels 1t L
a perfect outrage" to send vic
tins of the war" to insane asylum!
or penitentiaries. He visualizes re-
habilitation camps where they car
be sent for an indeterminate perioc
until they are well enough to taxi
their places in society.
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Pond Tcnrart CehaJ,Iad