Evening star., 1949-06-19
Judge Reeves Puts Accent on Patience
might lead to some purpose. Jus
tice win be defeated.
Continued From First Page

- eA~AS - &A&S ASASss ~ osASA4'
be resolved for the defendant.
"A Judge should not be too quicl
to shut Of testimony. Time Is O
no consequence when justice Is In
volved.
"A judge ought to do justic,
thoroughly and sincerely but h'
ought to do 1t diplomatically 0,
the people will understand tha
reason for his course.
~ am thoroughly convinced tina
the people Of America with theil
line sense Of sportsmanship, Il
they think a Judge Is sincerely ant
honestly trying to do his duty
will be very tolerant of any mis-
takes he may make"
That Is the credo of a veteran
Of 20 years on the bench. . mar
who believes the guiding star ol
svery Judge" should be these words
used by Sir Edward Coke. chie1
Justice of the Kings Bench, wher
he defled King James I for tryini
to usurp judicial powers:
when there Ia q cause before
me, 7 shall do that which Is at fol
Q Judge to do.'
Looks Like . Judge.
With his name Of neatly combed
straight white hair and impassive
face. Judge Reeves looks like q
Judge. He smiled when q reporter
told him that.
"I'd rather act like a judge" he
said.
Tall and lean, he walks witt
deliberate space-eating strides
In the corridors Of the courthouse
he bows and speaks to any spec
tator who mods toward him. II
the lobby of the Jefferson Hotel
where he has been staying, n
waves and smiles at the note
guests as they pass him.
Toward the jury, he is :on'
sistently thoughtful.
Good morning, ladies and gen
tlemen of the jury, trust you hae
a restful night" he says wher
court opens In the morning.
Before the jury recesses for thu
week end, he says:
"Now, ladies ana gentlemen o1
the jury, I trust you will have Q
restful week end. I'm aware o1
the arduous duty you are per.
forming as good American citi'
zens. I'm proud Of the close at
tention you have been paying tc
this case"
Chides with Soft Words. =
From time to time when mer-
surial Defense Counsel Archibald
Palmer is being particularly
stormy, the judge chides him witt
these words: =
"Now the jury will decide the
facts in this case. It is a very
intelligent Jury: very intelligent
I've. told the jury not to pay tny
attention to anything counsels say
In debate and I know the Jury Il
obeying my instructions and Is
not paying any attention to you.
After eight weeks-much toe
long. he thinks-he ID admittedly
feeling the strain.
i've got to keep my attention
riveted every minute of the time. !.
he explained to the interviewer
1--WE got TO watch every word
Sometimes, q case airnost trtel
itself and you can get the drift
without following every question
and answer-but not this one"
When Judge Reeves came here
from Missouri. he didn't know he
was getting into the middle OF q
sensational trial. Chief judges Of
several jurisdictions were asking
for him, but he chose washington
partially because it would give
him q chance to see his two young
sranddaughters. They are the
children of Albert L. Reeves, 1r.
q member Of Congress last session
who is now In private law prac-
tice here with former Attorney
General Homer Cummings.
Don't Study Newspaper Stories.
sI didn't know wnat case
would get until q minute before
] went into the courtroom" he
said. when they told me 1t was
the Coplon case. 1t didn't mean
q thing to me. When the lawyers
started talking. I recalled having
read something in the newspapers
about 1t but I hadn't taken any
judicial notice Of It,"
The reporter pointed at the pile
Of newspapers In his lap and asked
the judge If he was reading the
Coplon stories.
81 glance at them but I don't
study them" he replied. II asked
the jury not to read the news
paper reports so I don't think ]
should either"
He relaxeS from the trial with
an occasional game Of bridge or
q round Of golf. He was planning
10 play 10 holes Of golf yesterday
afternoon. When the reporter
pointed to the steady drizzle, he
said with perfect confidence. MY
friends checked with the weather
man. He said the drizzle would
stop at noon."
AS I O'Clock approached. the
Judge looked out the window.
"The weatherman was wrong.
he ruled.
He has got out Of the habit oi
anger, believing that & judge must
never lose his head. He learned
early in his judicial career that
impatience is fatal. that q lawyer
must try a case In his own way
even II 1t takes longer.
In this case" he said, Elm