Evening star., 1950-01-21
By NewboId Noyes, Jr.
Stor Stoff Correspondent

NEW YORK, Jan. 21.-The AL
ger Hiss jurors continued today
to seek a verdict in the former
State Department officials perjury
retrial. amid faint signs that they
may be approaching a meeting
of minds.
Refreshed by a nights sleep in
a downtown hotel, the panel of
eight women and four men re-
sumed deliberations at 9:20 am,
40 minutes ahead of schedule. At
10:30, they sent a note to Federal
Judge Henry w. Goddard, asking
him to define for them once more
such legal terms as reasonable
doubt. circumstantial evidence
and acceptable corroborative evil
dence.
Judge Goddard called the jury
back to the courtroom where he
re-read applicable portions of his
charge.
Out s Hours and As Minutes.
The jury had been debating
Mr.. Hiss fate for eight hours
and As minutes, less meal times,
when they made this move today.
At Mr.. Hiss first trial, which
ended with hung jury last July
8, the panel already was declar-
ing its inability to reach a verdict
at about this stage of events.
Judge Goddard. in refreshing
the jurors on the reasonable
doubt" concept. told them the
term means neither a capricious
doubt nor that a charge must be
proved beyond any possible doubt.
He said that circumstantial evi-
dence, provided it is believed, car
ries the same weight as direct
evidence and that, in effect, cor
roborative evidence is acceptable
SO long as the jury is willing to
accept it.
Defense Notes Exception.
After the jury had again retired,
defense attorneys objected that
Judge Goddard had not gone far
enough into the subject of reason
able doubt, and asked him to read
other sections of his charge on
this point for the panel.
The judge rejected this plea,
however, and the defense noted an
exception.
This was the sentence which
the defense argued should have
been read to the jury on reason
able doubt.
Evidence of good character
may in itself. create a reasonable
doubt where, without such evi-
dence, no reasonable doubt would
exist
Another Defense Objection.
The defense also objected
that the jurist had ended his
definition of proper corroborative
evidence with the sentence:
"The Government urges that
facts and circumstances have
been proved which, it says, fully
substantiate the testimony of Mr..
Chambers.
Mr.. Hiss lawyers contended
that Judge Goddard should have
included in his reading the next
sentence of the charge, which
read:
This is an issue to be deter
mined by you"
In case the jury should fail to
reach agreement it probably will
remain secluded in the Knicker-
booker Hotel tomorrow. Judge
Goddard repeatedly has decided
the panel will not deliberate on
Sunday. In this event, the jury
would not meet again until Mon
day morning.
Neither the Government nor the
defense appears as yet to attach
much Importance to the jury's de-
lay in reaching a decision. The
Jurors must consider the testi-
mony of more than 100 witnesses,
amounting to more than 1000, 900
words. The feeling is that quick
verdict would be remarkable.
First Jury Out Fl Hours.
At Mr.. Hiss first trial last
spring, the jury debated more
than 27 hours before it was dis
charged. Eight jurors favored
conviction on that occasion. while
four held out for acquittal.
Mr.. Hiss, IS, a former presi-
dent of the Carnegie Endow-
ment for International Peace,
faces a possible maximum SEN
tence of 10 years Imprisonment
and $4,000 in fines, il convicted
on two counts of the pei jury
Indictment.
In the first count, Mr.. Hiss is
accused of falsely denying to a
Federal grand jury on December
Is, 1948, that he gave State De-
partment secrets to Whitaker
Chambers, an admitted ex-Com-
munist agent, for transmission to
Russian spies in 1887 and 1888.
Jury Calls for Documents.
The second count alleges that
Mr.. Hiss lied in swearing he did |
hot see Mr.. Chambers between |
tSee HISS. Page A-4.) 4