Show BATCH OF SENTENCES UIS consideration IS PASSING JUDGMENT the full sentence not imposed lu auy instance chief justice sanford of the third district court nas done considerable sentencing this week but in all of it there has been a conspicuous absence of the persecution that characterized judge zanes course on monday after the cannon case was through archibald N hill came forward and listened to the reading of an indictment charging him with unlawful cohabitation in having lived with his wives from may 1 1884 to april 21 1887 to this charge he entered a plea of guilty F S richards asked the court to suspend sentence as to the defendant as he was seventy two years of age and had no great amount of proper ty district attorney peters opposed tho request he said mr hilt had been arrested once and had escaped from the officers he had also distributed tri buted hia property to the branches of his family judge sandford that is commendable rather than otherwise the court then made some further inquiries regarding mr hills circumstances and imposed a penalty of 50 days imprisonment and fine samuel H hill was next called there was a two count indictment against him under the segregation scheme the extra count was dismissed and he entered a plea of guilty to unlawful cohabitation cje Gran deYoung suggested to the court that mr hill had surrendered himself and therefore asked leniency mr peters remarked that he had kept out of the way of the officers for two years court has he been out on bail mr peters he was out on leg bail court the court does not recognize such bail mr young he never has before been arrested court if he had been that would be condoned by his pleading guilty now mr S EL hills punishment was fixed t fine and 60 days imprisonment wm J parlan was then called to plead to the charge of unlawful cohabitation his plea was guilty and the court took into consideration his circumstances and sentenced him to imprisonment for 50 days and to pay a fine of 50 james turner had previously entered a plea of guilty to the charge of unlawful cohabitation and now stepped forward to receive his sentence the court what is your age turner I 1 am in my year the court how many children have you turner my children are all grown the court Is this your first offense you have never been in court before turner no sir the court what property have you turner but very little and I 1 am in debt iba court on account of the fact that you have saved the government the expense of a trial and also on account of jour inclined to use discretion vested in me chave the power to impose upon you such a penalty as will prevent you from again committing a like offense if you come before me again however I 1 shall imposed im posea heavier penalty a greater punishment you will be fined 50 and incarcerated in the penitentiary for fifty days and stand committed until the fine be paid daniel lewis came forward for sentence oa the going charge the court your age lewis fifty four the court what is your business lewis farmer the court how old is your youngest child lewis five years last may the court Is this your first offense jlewis yes sir the court by your plea of guilty you have saved the government the expense of a trial and have admitted the supremacy of the law of the land to which all must yield obedience in consideration of your plea and your circumstances you will be fined 60 and imprisoned sixty days muford B shipp stepped forward mr eichardt Eich ards stated that there were three counts against the defend antin one indictment mr shipp desired to enter a plea of guilty to one of the counts and asked that the others be dismissed the court three counts richards that is a segregated case defendant then entered a plea of guilty waived his right for time and for sentence at once mr richards urged that the defendent was entitled to some leniency on account of the fact that this was bis first offense offence of and in consideration of his plea sir peters I 1 dont think that the statement is true that this is the first of fence his plea would indicate that he had committed the offense of polygamy at some past time that however is barred it is true defend ant did surrender but it was after he had eluded the officers for over two years mr eichardt Eich ards thought the statement made to the court was an unfair one that a plea of guilty to unlawful cohabitation necessarily meant tha commission odthe crime of poly g amy A great many marriages have baan contracted before there was any law against it mr peters whether that is the case with mr shipp can be very easily settled the court ask him when he married his last wife mr peters repeated the question mr shipp 1861 mr peters I 1 had information to the effect that his last marriane mar had taken place quite recently mr richards further stated that the defendant had twenty children fifteen dependent upon him mr shipp was sentenced to 75 and seventy five days mr richards I 1 suppose the other indictments may be dismissed the court on what ground mr richards segregation the court nodded edward davis followed he was under two indictments ono charging unlawful cohabitation and the other adultery and both covering the same period of time mr moyle represented that the defendant was a poor man and had never been in court before mr peters said that while that ight be true nevertheless it was also true that his last marriage was a recent one the court when were you last married davis davis in 1884 mr peters he is also charged with adultery alleged to have been committed during the same period the court do you think that I 1 could impose punishment for adultery as well as unlawful cohabitation mr peters I 1 think that your honor should have all the facts be fore you and then mete out justice at your own discretion mr moyle both indictments cover the same period the court I 1 cannot now take into consideration the statement that he has been guilty of any other crimes he is here to answer to the charge of unlawful cohabitation to defendant yon have saved the government considerable expense by your cleaon the other hand your was committed at a late date your fine will be 70 and you will bo incarcerated seventy five days what are the costs in this case mr peters mr peters not much about 40 or 50 the court I 1 think that in this case I 1 shall also require the costs to be paid commenting on the upright and fearless coarse of judge sandford the ogden standard hab the following to say judge sandford sitting on the bench of the third district court in salt lake city had his first experience monday with the peculiar class of cases known to the courts as unlawful cohabitation the event and the course pursued by his honor are both notable and are deserving of some comment he had a busy day and sustained the majesty of the law by sending several men to the pena tertiary tent iary but it was in the sentences which he pronounced as well as in certain rulings on points of evidence that we find what is especially noteworthy note worthy an intimation of the construction he places upon this one out of the many laws it is his duty to execute it is one of the unfortunate incidents of holding a federal office in this territory that the incumbent if he manifests a desire to show fairness and magnanimity is subjected to personal abuse and merciless criticism judge sandford may find this to be his portion those of his predecessors who have shown an inclination similar to that which he showed yesterday received unstinted and without cessation such urgings and maledictions male dictions as made them wince unfortunately for them and for the interests of the commonwealth they have been unable except in very few instances to withstand the punish ment it will be fortunate for judge sandford for the community and for the great government whose representative he is if he under similar treatment shall prove of sterner mettle less subservient to the lash we maintain that in the george Q cannon case and the archibald hill and samuel hill cases as well as in the others which came before him judge sandford took the proper course to make the law respected let the mind reflect for one moment 1 on the long history of prose under this particular act in how many cases has the discretion of tho court been exercised except when purchased with a promise to obey the law in tha future as interpreted by the courts the record will show that in nearly all the prosecutions the full penalty was imposed for the first as for the subsequent of fences worse than that leading exponents of the law and some entrusted with its enforce ments are quoted as expressing regret that tho act of congress did not authorize the infliction of heavier penalties we submit that under no honorable system of jurisprudence is there warrant or parallel for such vindictive enforcement of its provisions in another case tried later in the day the judge laid down an old and plain principle pYe of law which is particularly ticul arly interesting by contrasts with some of the proceedings in this territory during the last four years he says general reputation that a man is a forger does not prove that he is a forger I 1 there is an exception where reputation can be a proof of any fact I 1 do not know it it is needless to remind the most thoughtless though less reader that in many convictions vict ions general reputation or evi I 1 dence not even quite BO good as that has been the principal reliance of the prosecution if the law was framed to meet a certain condition as is claimed was then certainly its enforcement calls for wisdom discretion and firmness prosecutions can be fair and straightforward and judicial officers in exercising their functions need not step outside of theme such a course as that indicated by judge sandford yesterday in the quick estand best way to bring keople to respect the law bocon |