Evening star., 1947-07-04
May-Garsson Defense
Plans 10 Garry Fight
To Highest Court
By Robert K. Walsh

By Robert K. Walsh
Promising to go "all the way to
the Supreme Court" if necessary,
to clear former Representative
Andrew j. May and the Carson
brothers of their District Court
conviction on war bribe charges,
defense attorneys today said
they would move that the YER
dict be set aside because the jury
was denied the complete story"
They will file three motions, prob
ably Tuesday, with Justice Henry A.
Schweinhaut, who presided over the
1l-week-long trial.
Although the scheduled motions
are customary ones for Judgment
of acquittal, an arrest of judgment
and a new trial, Warren E. Magee,
chief counsel for May, and Charles
J. Margiotti, chief counsel for the
Carson brothers, declared some of
their arguments may make legal
history" here.
Guilty on All Counts.
May, 72-year-old wartime chair
man of the House Military Affairs
Committee, was found guilty yester-
day on all three counts of an indict-
ment charging he sold his services
to the Garssons.
The 50-year-old Henry Carson
and his brother Murray, 54, were con-
victed likewise on the three counts
They were charged specifically with
conSpiring with May to defraud the
United States by depriving the Ma
ton Of the faithful services of a
member Of Congress and also aid
ing and abetting him to take more
than $50, 900 in bribes in return for
favors he did for them and for
companies In their $78, ,O00, 900 NUM-
tions combine. The jury of seven
men and five women deliberated
hour and so minutes.
The three were continued free
on $4,000 bond each, the same i'm
posed after their indictment last
January. Each faces a possible
maximum sentence of six years in
prison and $4,000 in fines.
May Plans to Go Home.
May planned to leave for his
Prestonsburg, KY, home tomorrow,
Mr.. Magee announced Henry and
Murray Carson said they expect
to go to Chicago in a few days and
later to New York. Unless other
wise ordered by Justice Schwein-
haut, they would not be required to
appear in court when the three mo-
tions are argued, but they would
have to be present at any hearing
on an appeal to a higher court.
Justice Schweinhaut did not indi-
cate how soon he would hear the
three motions to be filed Tuesday.
Mr.. Magee and Mr.. Margiotti said
they will claim the Government
failed to produce sufficient evidence
OF conspiracy and of payments
to May for visits and calls he ad-
mittedly made to the War Depart
ment in behalf of the Garssons.
The attorneys said they also will
claim the Garssons were illegally
indicted, tried and convicted under
section 203 of the criminal code
which prohibits member of Con-
gress from receiving or agreeing to
receive such compensation. That
statute, defense counsel declared at
a press conference yesterday after
noon in Hotel Statler, does not apply
to aiding and abetting."
"Not Legally Prosecuted"
"Even assuming that May received
such payments" Mr.. Magee said,
"the Garssons were not legally
prosecuted under that statute"
Defense lawyers asserted, more
over, that Justice Schweinhaut
"erred seriously" in limiting the
number Of witnesses and type of
evidence that could be put forward
by the defendants.
Henry Carson testified" Mr..
Margiotti explained, that certain
conditions such as discrimination,
manpower problems and other
major obstacles caused him to 60
to May for help in speeding up
their war production.
The only way we could prove
that would have been to call various
corroborative witnesses to give the
jury the complete story and all the
facts to show that those things, and
not payment of money, motivated
May and the Garssons. But the
court limited the number of wit
nesseS we wanted to call so that
the defendants could get the full
and fair trial to which they were
entitled
Issue Statement.
Another objection to be offered,
defense counsel said, is that Justice
Schweinhaut erred in ruling that
it was immaterial to the case
whether the Garssons were good or
mediocre war producers.
William A. Paisley, chief of
the Justice Departments General
Crimes Section, who prosecuted May
and the Garssons, "looks like any
thing but demon prosecutor" He
also obtained the conviction of
Mayor James NJ Curley of Boston
In District Court.
Mr.. Paisley himself explains: "I
Just try to be natural"
He said he did not handle the
important cases any differently
than I have dozens of others.
There was the same long prepara-
ton, the same looking up the law
Until we were sure of every angle,
and there was the same attempt
ASH