Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-07-24

cool enough for jackets and
walks, the sun only partially fill
tered through the trees.
served under a judge who in
more savage days would be
called hanging judge. Stern,
short but erect, stiffened with
the immense digested starch of
United States Statutes, he held
merciless court. He often inter
rupted and questioned witnesses,
while the district attorney, hold
ing his breath, watched the
elaborate gard en- path he had
been leading the witness through
become broad avenue of escape
and evasion.
call him hanging judge but
I must say that 1 was never pres
ent on sentencing days. l am
only reporting what went on dur
ing the trials.
Since we were sitting in a
felony court, serious crimes
only came to our attention.
ExtOrtiOn, contempt of Con.
gress, hOusebreaking, theft
and murder were our lot.
/ learned that it was possible
to live and live quite we'll on GER
tain shakedown rackets, until we
convicted the racketeers. Defense
lawyers varied but the two best
performers were Marcantonio,
who fixed me with piercing eyes,
eyes as black and d e a dly and
shoebutton as black widow
spider, during the jury selection
and said, 81 challenge number
seven" Number seven was glad
to be out of there.
Charles E. Ford defended an
accused murderer. 1 was number
10 this time, bad luck for most,
good luck for me. Happily no one
sickened. 1 sat firm as the other
IL filed out, to convict the
accused of nothing more than UNI
lawful possession of an unmark-
ed pistol.
Mr.. Ford, when he got worked
up, was beside himself, and very
nearly in the jury box with us. 1
have never been that close to
anyone before and since and had
to endure for that eternity the
emotional pile-driving that he adj
ministered. l remember nothing
of his speech. I do remember
some of the evidence eight years
afterward. 1 think we were all
convinced on the evidence alone.
The verdict I silently expressed
to myself and tried to transmit
to the others as they left was
exactly the verdict rendered four
hours later. / think the dis
pleasure the judge expressed was
due in negative way to his be-
lief that we had been influenced
by Mr.. Ford. He was most UNI
happy.
One of the principles of law is
that the plaintiff shall come to
the court with clean hands. No
one may sue to collect an unlaw-
full debt. In a case of house
breaking and larceny of hams
from a warehouse that had the
word Kosher" in its name, who
then came to court clean-handed?
We were not trying the case
under Mosaic law or the defend
ants would have been freed as
public servants.
My respect for the processes of
law increased daily. This was no
duty, this was privilege. l took
no pleasure out of conviction, nor
really out of acquittal, because it
was all monstrous job. l felt
each time only that, on the evil
dence we had dealt fairly and
prayed that others would do so
for me if ever necessary.
1 was selected as foreman on
one of the last cases we tried. 1t
was a particularly unpleasant
case, having to do with two men,
living by extortion, who attempt
ed to shake down an admitted
homosexual. Neither the de-
PENDANTS nor the governments
chief witness were exactly whole
some types. The evidence was
largely police-produced, marked
money, a fake detective badge
and eyewitness accounts of the
proffer of the blackmail money,
its hesitant acceptance and re-
fusal when the police closed in. I
was moved to soap box oratory
in the jury room when several
nice, respectable old ladies can
didly expressed themselves: you
can't trust the police. they want
convictions. After all they should
be out catching real criminals
and not bothering poor boys like