Evening star., 1949-07-08
Lie Detector 10 Settle
6-Month Dispute in
Drunken Driving Case

LII d COul lIlOVc DCliCFCu WlOIl-
out precedent here, the defendant
and prosecutor in a drunken driv-
ing case have agreed to let lie
detector test established the guilt
or innocence of the accused.
Principals in the unusual agree .
ment are Everett E. Feller. 40, of
the 100 block of West Virginia
avenue NE; his attorney. T. Ed
ward .O'Connell, and Assistant
Corporation Counsel Clark F.
King, chief prosecutor in Munich
pal Court.
Decision to abide by the seldom
tried lie test is the outcome of
more than six months of court
confusion. During this period. one
judge has thrown out guilty Ver-
dict returned by jury on the
drunken driving charge. Another
judge has found the defendant
guilty of passing two stop signs
but has delayed sentence pending
outcome of a new jury trial. And
the defendant himself has con-
tended Steadfastly that he was
not actually the driver of his car
at the time of the accident that
started the trouble.
Another Car Hit.
The various charges were placed
against Feller last December II
when his car hit another at Nay
lor and Good Hope roads Sc.
about lbs am. With him at the
time were two companions, Mr..
and Mrs. David E. Fleming, for
merly of Alexandria. whom he had
met earlier in restaurant.
Two policemen who were at the
accident scene at the time of the
crash and Joseph A. Faircloth, 20,
of 313 Washington boulevard
Sc. driver of the other car. all
testified they saw Feller behind
the wheel of his car shortly after
the accident. One policeman also
said he saw him there before.
But Feller insisted he had
switched places Immediately aft
erwards with Mrs. Fleming. She
had been driving, but. after the
crash. said she had no license and
feared arrest, it was testified.
There was no argument, accord
ing to Mr.. King, as to whether
Feller was under alcoholic inf1u-
ence. This was admitted by the
defense, he pointed out.
Mr.. King has insisted, however,
that it was impossible for the
switch claimed by the defendant
to be carried out in the short time
between the accident and the mo-
ment the prosecution witnesses
saw Feller behind the wheel.
Verdict Rejected.
Judge Walter j. Casey rejected
the original jury verdict on the
drunken driving charge On the
ground the testimony did not give
sufficient proof Feller actually was
driving.
The case was due for retrial
yesterday, but Judge Ellen K.
Raedy postponed it until July %,
after both Mr.. King and Mrs. |
O'Connell informed her Of the
lie detector plan.
If the lie test shows Feller
spoke the truth, the Government
will drop the case. Mr.. King said.
If not, the defendant will change
his plea to guilty. said Mr..
tO'Connell. ...
! Mr.. King disclosed that he has
had considerable difficulty in
locating a testing device and
operator. The FBI refused to
handle the test in it's laboratory.
he said, on the ground that its
facilities are for it's own use ex-
clusively. Who will conduct the
test he did not disclose, but the
prosecutor said it has been ar
ranged. The District owns no
such equipment and seldom has
need for it. he pointed out. De-
PENDANTS rarely are willing to
submit to such a test, he added