Evening star., 1948-11-23
High Court Dismisses
Question Of Control
In Gun-Carrying Here
Ry Robert X. Walsh

The Justice Department has de-
cided against seeking a Supreme
Court answer to legal question in
volving District control OF gun
carrying.
At the request of the department.
the high court yesterday dismissed
the following question that was GER
titled directly from the Court Of
Appeals here November 8:
ITO convict a man Of carrying a
gun, is it necessary that the indict-
ment specify that a man had no
license for the weapon?"
The case involved Samuel Waters,
A, colored, taxicab driver, whom
a District Court grand jury found
guilty of carrying a pistol. Chief
Judge Bolitha ]. Laws set aside the
verdict because the indictment did
not say Waters had no license to
carry gun.
The Government appealed and
the Court Of Appeals sent the ques-
ton directly to the Supreme Court
under a law allowing such certiflca-
ton in cases where trial court judg-
ment is based on construction OF a
statute. The Supreme Court dis
missal leaves the ruling OF Judge
Laws in effect.
Two Other Reviews Denied.
The Supreme Court yesterday re-
fused to review appeals in two other
District cases.
1t denied the petition Of Mrs.
Minnie Harris, colored, for review of
her second degree murder conviction
on charges Of killing her husband,
James Harris, former business agent
of the Cafeteria Workers Union.
Mrs. Harris was sentenced to IS
years to life after being found guilty
by a District Court jury early this
year. The United States Court of
Appeals last July upheld the verdict.
Mrs. Harris based her appeal mainly
on a claim that a letter, identified
by a handwriting expert as having
been written by her. should not have
been admitted as trial evidence Of q
confession.
The court also refused to review
the case OF a Washington seafood
company that protested against
paying damages to man injured by
one of its trucks driven by an un-
authorized person.
Case Originated in 1941.
The case originated in 1s41, when
a r. w. Claxton, Inc, truck was de-
livering fish to a Fat Boy" restau-
rant on New York avenue near
Bladensburg road NE. While the
truck driver was inside the estab-
lishment, two reported employees of
the restaurant drove away in the
truck, the record stated. In sub
sequent crash Boyd F. Schaf, driver
of another car, was injured.
He sued the Claxton company,
but lost in District Court. The
Court Of Appeals ordered another
trial. The jury in the second trial
awarded Mr.. Schaff $5,400 and costs.
Appealing to the Supreme Court,
the sea-food company contended it
should not be held liable for negli-
gence, because the man who drove
the truck at the time Of the acci-
dent was not its agent and was
operating it without permission.
In another order yesterday the
Supreme Court agreed to review
the murder conviction of q Mary
land man who claimed Negroes
were excluded from grand jury serv-
ice in Baltimore solely because Of
their race. The petitioner, Sam
Zimmerman; was found guilty in
Baltimore court on q first-degree
murder charge in 1946, and SEN
fenced to life imprisonment.
Maryland authorities declared in
a preliminary brief to the Supreme
Court that Negroes served on Bal
timore grand juries in 1946. They
explained that several years pre-
viously the method Of selecting
grand jurors was improved with a
view to preventing possible dis
elimination against colored people.