Evening star., 1951-12-04
Highest Court 10 Rule
On Charge Of Selling
Non-Existent Jobs
By Robert K. Welsh

The Supreme Court will decide
whether a politician could legally
be charged with selling a Gov
eminent job that did not exist
The Justice Department yester-
day was granted a review of the
dismissal of counts against two
Mississippi Democrats. who al
legedly sought political contribu-
tions by promising to arrange ap-
pointments to a county ration
board. The department had
asked for a Supreme Court re-
view because:
rThe corruption charged in the
indictments related to potential
Federal positions authorized by
. an act of Congress. The respect
and confidence which underlie
the Federal service would clearly
be undermined by an unrestrained
practice of selling Federal jobs
which are not actually in exist
ence, but the establishment of
which is within the reasonable ex-
pectation of the public"
Involves Twelve in Mississippi.
The when-iS-a- job -not-a-job is
sue involved Roy F. Brashier and
James H. Wilkinson, who, with 10
other Mississippi men, were in
dieted last January on charges of
Conspiracy to sell appointments to
Post Office and Office of Price Sta
biHzation jobs.
A Federal court in Mississippi
dismissed the counts against the
two men because no such Office as
ration board chairman existed
during the time covered by the in
dictment. The Government con-
tended that such job was poten-
tiai because Congress, in enacting
the Defense Production Act, "un-
questionably gave the President
authority to establish, among other
things, a system of rationing."
The Supreme Court probably
will hear oral arguments late in
January.
The tribunal also disposed Of a
wide variety Of other cases and
agreed to review one involving
seizure of an unlicensed radio
transmitter. The latter case orig
mated in Seattle, Wash, when a
Federal Communications Commis-
sion agent. without a warrant.
seized from a parked automobile
a radio transmitter which had
been used to defraud horse race
bookies.
Three men arrested later were
said by police to have sent out
radio information telling bettors
the winners of races before bets
were placed with bookies. The men
were convicted on charges of max
ing unlawful radio transmissions
without an FEC license. Main
questions before the Supreme
Court are whether the radio was
legally seized and used against the
men at tnelr trial.
Won't Hear Fields Appeal.
Other actions taken:
In other actions the high court:
/. Refused, with Justices Black
and Douglas dissenting, to hear
the appeals of Frederick Vander-
bilt Field. Dashiell Hammett and
Alphaeus w. Hunton from con-
tempt of court sentences they are
now serving. Field, often de-
scribed as the millionaire left
ist": Hammett, a mystery writer,
and Hunton were trustees of the
Civil Rights Congress bail fund
for II Communist Party leaders
convicted of conspiracy to teach
violent overthrow of the govern
ment.
When four of the II failed toI
show up to start serving sentences, |
Field, Hammett and Hunton re-
fused to give the court and grand
jury information about their last
contacts with the missing men or
about the bonds. Hammett and
Htnton got six-month sentences
and will complete them next week.
Field got nine months and must
stay in Jail until March.
2. Directed William H. Davis,
as a special master for the court,
to. hold hearings on three legal
points concerning claims by the
United States and California to
the exact boundary lines of the
submerged oil lands. The tri-
bunal ruled. in 1947, that the
United States has paramount
rights to oil and mineral deposits
in the off-coast areas. Final ac-
ton has been delayed by difficult
ties in working out boundary
claims.
New Hearing for Convicts.
8. Decided, To, with Justices
Minton and Frankfurter dissent
ing, that three convicts in Illinois
are entitled to a new hearing un-
der that States recently enacted
'postconviction hearing law" That
statute is designed to enable i'm
prisoned persons to press claims
that their rights under the State
or Federal Constitutions were vio-
lated at their trials.
Illinois courts dimissed the petit
tions of the three convicts on the
ground that their rights had not
been violated. The Supreme Court
yesterday remanded the cases to
the Illinois courts with instruc-
tions that the convicts be given
a hearing to determine the truth
of their assertions. State au-
thorities had contended that no
Federal question was presented in
the appeal to the Supreme Court.
4. Ruled, 7-to-1, with Justice
Douglas dissenting, that gambling
evidence unlawfully seized by New
Jersey police may be used in State
court trials. New Jersey has a
special statute allowing court use
of evidence seized by police with
out warrants if the evidence tends
to show commission of the crime