| Show JUSTICE SHOP LAW biow an illinois justice of the pence peace interpreted the statute soon after I 1 became a member of tho ilia illinois bar said hon hall burton a cook to a group of liia professional friends recently 1 I was wai retained to defend a farmer livin living in one of the iho pioneer communities s 0 of f tl the ie S state tl t e w who h 0 was charged with ri murder ij r de r 1 it t w was i s re represented p to me ilia that my client hall had killed a quarrelsome nei neighbor in self defense but buk there was a good deal of brej prejudice hadice in the community against him antl and before I 1 11 reached cached the backwoods village in which these incidents cit lents occurred lie he had bad been baroti brought 0 lit before a justice of the peace who em paneled a joiy and forcad the lie prisoner to an immediate trial As A I 1 had bad not yet arrived ho he hall had no one to defend him hill and a verdict of murder ii ia the first de deree decree ree was ivas easily eaily obtained on oil receiving the verdict ct of tile the jury the justice solemnly pronounced io I o sentence and named tho the dy of ilia th execution it was at this juncture that I 1 arrived on oil the scene I 1 saw the justice of tile tho peace and pointed bojt out to him that lie had exceeded his iou I po ou ers CM in sentencing a man to be hanged that ilia ihnat of his authority was to hold tile prisoner for ilia acison of the ho grind rand jury attry but my iny were att thrown way away ile he said lie got hs ii s law from ilic statutes of illinois and 1 nd not from city lawyers awl and lie found that those sta statutes tules provided fur for the hie punishment of murder by ii cili and as chii ali man had been co coi A act clod ed in III his court lie conceived it to bl ins ills duty to see sec tile sentence axe caled it was in vain that I 1 argued that lie would be accessory to lo a murder in alloin allotting ins ills constable to take this mans life particularly as the law had biad been pointed out to him ilis his only reply was that if I 1 could show him any law of illinois that said lie eli di I 1 not have tho lift right I 1 to hang ian a man mail ile he ii would lie bo guided aljy it but unless such law laur were found tile the death sentence would bt lir carried out the following friday until after this interview I 1 had riot not looka upon ilia iho case as at all serious with a fair trial I 1 was client could not even lie be convicted convict edof of manslaughter it 1 I a blau liter and I 1 hall had no thought lit but that I 1 could convince con coti viii vinco cc the lie justice justi of the terribly terri blo error lie had fallen into I 1 was now thoroughly I 1 frightened however tile justice was as resolute as is it ho was in ignorant orant and no iio one in tho the comm community doub doubted that lie ho would carry his sen alliance into effect in those limes ot of slow SIOW travo traveling lium tile the two days to tle tie fital fatal friday were riot not saiu for me to bring the case before the proper tribunal aud and secure a writ that would save my clients life I 1 did riot not sea that I 1 could do any thin further when it was sug suggested ested by some one that a 1 polly fogging 1 lawyer who lived ten tell or twelve miles away rial might I 1 lat be able to help me I 1 was t vlad glad to di dyulo to tile responsibility with willi any ally one and my horse and rode abriss the praire 0 to the ilia lawyers house to use I 1 found him at homo home and after 0 giving avill I 1 him a hasty outline of the ca case se I 1 asked him if any tiling could be ba done to prevent tho the consummation 1 of this murder my story d did not scout to excite him in the iho least and lie ho replied that lie ho though ita it a very simple matter ho he said further however aliat if lie ho was to give any advice lie he th thought otilit I 1 that he a should bo be paid for it I 1 told old him lie ho would be given iran any an reasonable suni for advie addico a that would accuro to the alio prisoner tile trial to which lie ho was avas entitled by law ile ho then told me do that eliat his usual feu fee was and lie he should charge I 1 me ilia the same in this case wo we agreed that this was a reasonable chirl charge cl and lie then gave his advice which was to take lake an ill appeal idid edid not believe that lie iho su suggestion A wis Is worth any ally thing perhaps because it had cost so little but I 1 returned pud mado tho ilia formal announcement that wo ave had appealed the caso case to the circuit court one of the heaviest lod loads t that hat was ever on oil my shoulders ivits liford when tho the autice recognized ilia appeal and released tile prisoner under bonds of chicago journal |
