Evening star., 1954-10-24

SCdIlQdIOuS.
Mr.. Rover had sought to have
the jurist step down from the
Text Of Younsdohl Memorandum ond
Rejcted Stories. Poee AT.
baltimore case scheduled ten
tatively to come to trial jan
uary 10. The prosecutor charged
that Judge Youngdahl had pre-
judged the case in favor of the
defendant. Mr.. Rover made the
accusations in an affidavit of
bias and prejudice argued on
Thursday.
In his blunt memorandum
yesterday the jurist declared:
II cannot escape from the
conclusion that the purpose of
the affidavit Is to discredit in
the public mind the final actions
of our courts or else to intimi-
date the courts themselves"
Charges irresponsible Acts.
He charged that "those who
made and authorized the GER
tificate that the affidavit was
made in good faith acted ir-
responsibly and recklessly as
lawyers and officers of the Gov
ernment."
This certificate was signed by
John w. Jackson, a special as
sistant to the attorney general.
Mr.. Rover had based his affi-
davit Of prejudice on observa-
tions made by the judge in dis
missing four of seven perjury
counts against Mr.. baltimore
last year. Recently, a second in
dictment was returned against
the former State Department
consultant. This one accuses him
of lying to o Senate Internal Sc
curity subcommittee when he
denied he was ever a follower of
the Communist line or a pro-
moter of Communist interests.
One of the four charges dis
missed by the judge in the first
indictment included the key
count of the Governments case.
This charge accused Mr.. Latti-
more of lying when he told the
Senate subcommittee that he
was never q "sympathizer or
any other kind of promoter" Of
Communist interests.
Call Charge Too Vague.
Judge Youngdahl held that the
charge was too vague. His opin-
ion was upheld by the United
States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia as to this
count and one other.
While the appellate court held
that the word 'sympathizer" in
the first indictment was too
vague, it stressed it was not rul-
ing one way or the other as to
the word promoter"
Chief Judge Harold M. Ste
phens disagreed with the eight
other judges as to the count. He
held that it should be restored
to the indictment.
Mr.. Rover. in his arguments
before Judge Youngdahl, con-
tended that the appellate court,
while upholding the judges dis
missal of two of the four counts,
did not have before it the issue
Of Judge Youngdahrs language.
The prosecutor stressed that
he saw bias, not in the Young
dahl ruling. but in the language
he used while making the ruling.
BY refusing to step down
from the cases. Judge Youngdahl
is in the position to hear other
matters pertaining to the case
besides the actual trial. Under
court procedure he will be the
judge to hear any motions on
the part of the defense to dis
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A further move open to Mr..
Rover would be to ask the ap-
pellate court for something in
the nature of a writ of manda-
mus which would amount to
an order to the judge to step
out of the case.
Thurman Arnold, Mr.. Latti-
more's lawyer. had no comment
to make on Judge Youngdahl's
refusal to withdraw.
Observations Listed.
Observations made by the
Judge in dismissing the four
counts in the first Indictment in
which Mr.. Rover saw bias in
cluded:
/. Comments that the Tydings
Committee in the Senate had
cleared Mr.. baltimore Of any
taint of Communism.
2. An expression of doubt that
the remaining counts in the in
dictment could stand the test Of
materiality during the trial.
t3 Reference to the fact that
the charges against Mr.. Latti-
more alluded to incidents Is to
20 years old.
4. An observation to the effect
that in the Nations efforts to
fight communism the traditional
freedom Of thought must be pre-
served
Mr.. baltimore currently is on
leave from a teaching post at
Johns Hopkins University. A
specialist on Far Eastern affairs,
he had been consultant to the
State Department on such mat
tiers during the Democratic adj
rninistration.