Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-07
Lewis Case Expected
To Clarity Law on
Blasts al Officials

LEONAROTOWN, Nd, Mar. 8.
Criminal libel indictments
against radio commentator Full
ton Lewis. jr.. based on seldom
used English common law, prom
Use new court rulings on the
question Of how far news dis
seminators and citizens can go
in publishing criticism Of public
officials.
Decisions that may be given.
if the cases are tried. may also
resolve the issue of whether an
untested statute makes truth a
defense in Maryland.
Only handful Of indictments
charging criminal libel have been
handed to judges in the 320-year
history of the Free State and a
search of legal records has so
far revealed only four cases de-
cided by Maryland's Court Of
Appeals. Two affirmed circuit
court convictions. The others
reversed guilty verdicts on tech
nical grounds.
Feeling Running High"
The last case found was de-
cided 48 years ago. the others in
1898, 1893 and 1886.
Mr.. Lewis Is named in two true
bills resulting from his feud with
st. Marys County Republican
politicians. One charges that he
libeled the county's G. o. P.
State Senator, Paul j. Bailey,
. in a letter published last July
in The Enterprise, a st. MaryS
County weekly newspaper.
The other alleges that Mr..
. Lewis libeled st. Marys County
Trial Magistrate j. Donelan
. Hurry. ST., and Substitute Trial
Magistrate Wilson H. Knight
in q letter the commentator
wrote to Gov. McKeldin on April
. 10, 1858. The letter has never
been printed.
! Trial dates have not been set
and there Is a possibility that
! the cases will not be heard here.
Herbert N. Bingham. q District
attorney who Is a law partner
of Roger Robb. Mr.. Lewis per-
sonal counsel, said:
Because feeling against Mr..
Lewis is running high in st.
Marys County. it would not be
surprising if a change Of venue
is asked.
Challenge Expected.
Such q shift is discretionary
with the three judges of Mary
lands Seventh Judicial Circuit.
except in cases involving pos
sible capital punishment.
But no matter where the cases
may be called, motions challeng-
ing validity Of the indictments
are expected. In the Hurry
Knight case. the prosecution
must prove that Mr.. Lewis let
ter to the Governor was mailed
in st. Marys County, or received
there by the addressee. Maryland
law provides that indictments in
such cases can be brought only
in the jurisdiction where COM
municationS at issue are mailed
or delivered.
If the State cannot prove that
the true bill meets one Of those
requirements but can fix the
letters point of origin or deliv-
cry the existing indictment is
void but a new one could be
sought in the proper jurisdiction.
Trial Of either case would in
volve an ancient principle of
English law, based on the pre-
mise that malicious libel is GRIM
1nal because it tends to incite
disorder. Common law classes
it as misdemeanor and leaves
penalties to the courts, providing
only that the amount of fine or
length of Imprisonment be
neither cruel nor unusual.
Court Defines Libel.
In Maryland. juries can Judge
both law and facts and until re-
cent years courts were without
power to direct verdicts or give
instructions to veniremen. The
State Appeals Court, in 1859,
amended criminal procedure
rules to give judges the right to
issue advisory instructions and
to direct verdicts.
Justice McSherry, defining