Evening star., 1949-11-15
Rare Supreme Court
Jury Trial Asked in
| |TideIands Oil Case

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II Louisiana has it's way, the
tidelands oil case will be settled
by a jury trial in the Supreme
Court-a rare occurrence in United
States history.
The State filed a motion yes
terday asking the trial in event
the court rejects Louisiana's mo-
tion for dismissal of the Govern
ment's request that the high tri-
bunal rule that the Federal Gov
ernment has title to the rich OIL
bearing Gulf Coast tidelands.
F. Trowbridgei Won Baur. at
torney for the State. said there
have been only three jury trials
in history before the Supreme
Court. He said the case is al,
action to recover real property
and that under the seventh
amendment to the Constitution
a defendant in such a case is en-
titled to a jury trial.
In another busy decision day
yesterday. the court for the Sec
ond time upheld the prison
sentences meted out to former
Representative Andrew j. May
of Kentucky and the Carson
brothers.
Attorneys said today they would
ask District Court Judge Henry
A. Schweinhaut to reduce the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES terms
he imposed on May and Henry
and Murray Carson In July, l947
when a jury convicted them of
conspiracy to defraud the Gov
ernment.
President Truman will be asked
to grant executive clemency If the
District Court move is unsuccess-
full, Warren E. Magee, attorney
for May. said.
The Supreme Court yesterday
handed down three written opin-
ions covering Ave cases and
agreed to review a claim that 81
Germans, convicted and impris-
oned abroad as war criminals,
have access to courts in this
country.
Question Of Jurisdiction.
The specific appeal raised the
question whether District Court
here has jurisdiction to issue
writs Of habeas corpus In behalf
of the enemy aliens who are con-
fined in q German prison by
American occupation authorities.
The 81 men were sentenced to
terms from two years to life after
a military commission found them
guilty of having worked for Japan
in China after Germany sur
rendered May 8, 1945.
Judge Edward A. 1amm ruled
in District Court last April that
he had no jurisdiction in the
matter. He was overruled by the
United States Court Of Appeals.
The basic question may lead to
q Supreme Court decision on
whether people tried and i'm
prisoned abroad by American au-
thorities have access to courts in
this country.
The high court refused yester-
day, in a 7-to-1 order, to review
the case of friedrich Flick, a
German, industrialist, who was
sentenced, by a military tribunal
in Nuremberg to serve seven years
on charges that he exploited slave
labor and looted German-occu-
pied countries. \
Other Actions Taken.
i. In other actions the Supreme
Court: O. '... ~
Ruled that q veterans Job Sc
curity right under the draft law
does not end after the first year
of his unemployment In his pre-
war job. This unanimous opinion,
written by Justice Burton, re-
versed q lower court finding that
two Kentucky veterans lost that
right.
Refused to bypass the United
States Court of Appeals here and
consider the case of Irving Potash,
who is fighting a deportation
order. Potash was one of II
Communist Party leaders convict
ed in New York last month Of
conspiracy to teach violent over
throw Of the United States Gov.
ernment.
Britain's 5000, ,000th telephone
was installed on a 18th century