Evening star., 1949-06-19

patience would have caused more
turmoil and tempest. II q lawyer
Is obstreperous. a judge can't re-
form him during the trial Of q
case. But q Judge can make q
lawyer respectful Of his rulings
by imposing fines"
His voice during the Coplon trial
has been soft, almost gentle. on
the occasions he has leaned for
ward and said. "Now. Mr.. Clerk.
you will prepare an order citing
Mr.. Palmer for contempt Of court
and fining him 500 payable at
the end Of this case. Now. gen.
tlemen. let's proceed"
He thinks all the lawyers in the
Coplon case have become more
cautious since he levied the fines.
On the other hand, he thinks
a Judge can abuse. his power II he
he does not use it in a benevolent
way"
Must Not Abuse Power.
Power is a sacred thing. q trust
that a Judge must never abuse" he
said. There is no tyrant In the
world as bad as a judicial tyrant." !"
He has tried to learn how to de-
liver q reprimand in such a way
that the lawyer will not feel
Handicapped" will not feel that
the Judge is personally angry with
him. After q reprimand, he wants
the lawyer to feel he can ask the
,judge Ter Something in the next
breath and. know he will receive
fair treatment. ~T Il
He remembers the lawyer who
lost his head and had to be chas-
tised. The lawyer came to him
utterly crushed. Standing before
the fudge. he cried. Then he asked
10 ret ont of the case. He knew ne
had been wrong. but he couldn't
g0 on. After that the Judge became
more cautious in his reprimands..
Then, there was the time q
lawyer called his opponent a
damn liar" In front of the jury.
The Judge promptly fined him for
contempt of court. but he muir
INJURED to the clerk to hold the
payment. The lawyer publicly
apologized to his opponent and
the court. When the session was
over, the Judge called the attor-
neys to the bench. The lawyer.
he pointed out. had paid his fine
promptly and apologized. Did op-
posing counsel believe the fine
should be refunded? They did.
The atmosphere Of the court had
cleared. The lawyer got his money
back.
Believes In Fair Play.
The judges belief In Justice and
fair play-as indicated in one an
cedote after another-covers de-
PENDANTS, prosecutors and public
ofYicials, but first and foremost.
the American people.
That was why he listened SYM
pathetically when 100 leading eiti-
zens Of Kansas City came to him
in October, 1885. to ask for a
grand jury investigation OF the
city's election frauds.
st have no objection to political
leaders," he explained yesterday,
"but the ones in Kansas City had
been stealing elections, depriving
the people of their franchise"
Instead of calling the grand
Jury, he suggested that the citi-
zens' group cover the forthcom-
ing election. with observers and
bring him evidence Of irregulari-
ties. From the mass Of reports
brought him. he found an enor-
nous quantity Of law violations.
Then. he wrote q letter to the
United States District Attorney
informing him he was going to
call the grand Jury,
Throws Down Gauntlet.
On the morning he was to
charge the grand jury. Judge
Reeves summoned District Attor-
ney Maurice M. Milligen to his
chambers. He told the prosecutor:
when ! send you over the top.
you're either going to oblivion or
fame. I'm throwing down the
gauntlet for YOU. You oueht to be