Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-01-06 | Page 7 | Lawyers in Graft Cases out of Jail

LAWYERS IN GRAFT CASES OUT OF JAIL Supreme Court of Missouri Overturns Ruling of a District Judge. JEFFERSON" CITY, Mo., Jan. 5 The state supreme court today released on writs of habeas corpus Assistant Attorney At-torney General Howell and Lee B. Wing, special counsel in the alleged state graft cases. The two attorneys liad been ordered to prison by Circuit Judge Slate of Colt county, for contempt in refusing to proceed with the trial of John Scott,'. former commissioner of permanent perma-nent seat of government, after they had been denied a change of venue. Judge Walker, in his opinion, held that the act of the attorneys iu filing a motion for a change of venue was not contemptuous; that they acted in good faith, and that Judge Slate should have granted them time to apply for a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Slate from trying the cast?. ;- The opinion does not pass on the right of the state to ask a change of venue. Judge Walker said that when allegation alle-gation is made that a judge is prejudiced, preju-diced, he should disqualify himself and call another judge to try the case. lie held that the assistant attorney general was in reality only an assistant assis-tant to the county prosecuting attorney, attor-ney, and that he could not be held in contempt for not proceeding with the case, as the prosecuting attorney could have proceeded with the case if his assistants refused.