Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-25
Court 10 Hear
Three Pleas on
Rule
BY HOWARD L. DUTKIN
star stan Writer

l
The Supreme Court is slated
next week to hear three NAL
lory-type cases, Stemming from
State courts, involving delay in
arraignment and allegedly
coerced confessions.
Some lawyers see significance
in the courts having agreed to
hear the cases. They say that
generally where the State has
denied that confession was
coerced. the court has declined
to go into that issue Of fact.
One possibility seen is that
the court is interested in the
length of time that elapsed
between arrest and arraignment
alone. even assuming there was
no coercion.
1t was q seven-and-a-half-
hour lapse between arrest and
arraignment in the celebrated
Andrew Mallory case which led
the court to overturn his rape
conviction and void q confess
sion.
This was done under q Fed
eral rule which prohibits "un-
necessary" delay in arraign-
ment. Such rules do not apply
to the States. But legal circles
are conjecturing that the court
could view unnecessary delay
as a violation of the l4th
Amendment in that the &C.
cused was deprived Of due
process" Of law through the
delay.
Applies to States
Since the 14th Amendment
applies to the States, such q
holding would place the same
rigid restrictions on police in
vestigative methods through
out the country as now applies
in Washington and in Federal
courts generally.
In the cases now pending,
attorneys for the petitioners
argue violation of the due
process clause in that, they
say, the confessions were
coerced and the accused not
allowed to talk to a lawyer
while they were in police hands.
The Constitution provides
that one must have counsel at
trial but does not say that such
representation is required before
court proceedings.
Strychnine Case
One of the cases to be heard
involves the conviction and life
sentence imposed on Mrs. Mil
dred Hopkins Ashdown, who
was found guilty Of disposing
of her husband by means Of
strychnine- favored fruit juice.
Mrs. Ashdown. q former
Cedar City (Utah) housewife,
contends that she was taken by
police directly from the flu
neral of her husband to the
courthouse. Here, she says, she
was Intercepted for 51a hours.
At the time. she says, she was
grief-stricken. distraught, ex-
hausted and suffering from the
heat. She was denied counsel
at the time and members of
her family were not allowed to
see her during this period, her
attorney asserts.
An oral confession obtained
during the questioning should
not have been admitted in
evidence during her trial in
State court, her attorney con-
tends. Under the circumstances.
he declares, the admission was
coerced.
Newark Staying Case
In q second case, Vincent
Cicenia of Orange. N. j.. is
seeking his freedom from the
penitentiary on q writ Of habeas
Corpus. Cicenia is serving. a
life sentence after pleading non
vult (does not contest) to an
indictment charging the muir
der of q Newark shopkeeper
Counsel for Cicenia contend
he was arrested on December
II, 1949. at 9 am. and not
arraigned until IL am. Decem-
Der 10. after signing q seven
page confession.
State authorities say Cicenia
was questioned for q total OF
only one hour and Is minutes.
He changed an original story