Show COURT proceedings the first business busine gs done in judge zanes court feb 21 was the ruling bathe n the demurrer to the conspiracy indictment against E A smith francis armstrong E M weller weiler anu and samuel bennion the case was submitted last saturday and the demurrer was based on the ground that the indictment did not charge a public offense that the allegation that the county court paid funds to an unauthorized officer was not supported by the law judge zane ruled that the office of county superintendent of affairs was one which the county court was not authorized to create and that the allegations in the indictment did set forth a pub lie offense the case should therefore come before a jury on its merits that it could be determined whether the offense of conspiracy had been committed the question now was did the accused conspire to defraud the county did they have an intention to use county means for a purpose they knew to be unlawful this tha question was one that should le be submitted to the jury and the demurrer was overruled in the conspiracy charge against the members of the hydraulic canal company the demurrer was also overruled the court holding that the indictment described a public offense the question ren remaining waning was are the statements in the in true and it should be settled by the jury the time for pleading in both owes oases was waa fixed for february 24 in the case ot of the people vs john T sweeney mr mcdowall his attorney asked tor for an immediate trial mr sweeney was tried yesterday for passing a forged check and was acquitted it was the same chieck which in this case he was accused of borgi forging ng a and nd the elj evidence d ence yesterday showed that he be could not write at all he had been confined in the penitentiary for th three ree months in default of bail while his wife had to support their children as best beat she could by her labor under these circumstances there should be an immediate trial the case should be dismissed or the defendant be allowed to go on his own bances mr varian said he could not go to a trial without the witness whose name had been forged col ferry who he understood was so ill III that it might be several weeks before hu h could be out but promised to investigate the circumstances the case of the people vs luke mccartin the man who voted the I liberal ticket last july at the fifteenth oi strict election for trustees was called judge powers was attorney for the defense but he was in california and no one knew just when he be would woud be lack back so the court appointed mr bowman to defend him this afternoon acar M car tings thilo trial took place it was pro proved brovec vec anil and he admitted that hii he voted he was not a citizen having been in the united st tes less than a year abear before the election somebody told him he could vote if he wanted to the jury returned a verdict of not guilty of illegal voting the date of sentencing J B cummings convicted of attempt to commit rape ram which had been fixed for feb 22 was changed to feb 24 when a motion fur fir a new trial wll will be maue made james van watta natta was arraigned on OB a charge of unlawful I 1 cohabitation and pleaded not guilty the cases of assa assault uitto to do bodily harm barm and battery against michael J ji forhan were dismissed the fortner former because a witness foi the prosecution failed to appear when she wits subpoenaed and the latter because the lady who was assaulted now in europe and had man manifested her willingness to abandon the prosecution the application of thomas R jackson discharge on a writ of nf habeas corpus was called up mr jackson was sentenced on april 20 1889 to the penitentiary on a charge tf of adultery because he lived witt with his plural wife he was sentenced at provo and his bis term expired on feb 19 but the coste costa had been assessed against hint him and he had been ordered committed for their nonpayment non payment mr moyle appeared for the petitioner tit ioner and mr varian for the government the sections of law bearing on the subject were read and there seemed to be a unanimity of ideas as to the effect of the statute judge zane said inasmuch as ao the abe law simply imposes punishment by imprisonment or fine and not by both fine and imprisonment it don dont donit it authorize imprisonment for costs alone in cases where the law authorizes a fl fine no prisoners can be committed for fine and costs but where no flue fine is 18 authorized in connection with imprisonment the costs can be siss assessed essed but cannot bf be collected 1 y imprisonment they must be by civil process if at all s this afternoon mr jackson appeared before judge zare zane and was uis discharged charged |