| Show I 1 A oase CASE WITHOUT A DENT nast LAST thursday an uri uti unusual usual scene was witnessed in the fourth district court of california district attorney murphy who wes wab was prosecuting a case cage against a mrs hodgdon for fok malpractice announced to the court that one odthe of the jurors sitting on the case was guilty of perjury having haing violated his oath by off offering to friends of the defend ant to procure a disagreement of the juny jury for therium the thy sum of it appears that the juror referred to samuel A J husselman approached pro ached the bon eon and daughter of the defendant and explained the manner in which he thought thou glit he could coula hang the jury namely by buying two jurors to act with him an appointment was made to meet him on a subsequent occasion and meanwhile the facts were communicated to the attorney for the defence judge alexander carp campbell to his great honor instead of availing himself of this opportunity to help h his IS client he at once gave information of the jurors villainy to the court and district attorney Dete detectives aives kives were placed on the track of the of fending juror and his hia next conversation and offers were overheard by the officers ollI cers za A clear case was thus made out against him and the whole affair fr mag wag exposed in open court murt nua rua husselman made maje no reply and would ask no quel questions lons ions bt b t headd the exposure in undisturbed silence the judge was at a loew how bow to proceed in the matter but made one ODO step in tile the right direction by adjudging him guilty of contempt and imprisoning prison ing him five days and fining him for each contempt that is ten days imprisonment and 1000 lines and to stand committed till the rines fines were paid he will be prosecuted for asking a bribe the penalty for which unde under the laws of california is 19 imprison Imp imprisonment ament for not less than ten years the difficulty of the tha sub subject eject is that Huss husselman elmau remains one of the j ury empanelled empanel led to try the ease base which is still in progress he is in I 1 the county jail and only eleven are left the jury was discharged a to time for deliberation on the best course to pursue the judge finding no bo precedent to guide him in his tiec ision judging from the frequent escapes from justice justlee of notorious criminals the singular verdicts ver dieta dicta of juries and the obstinacy with which they are often prevented ly one or two of their number from agreeing we are forced to the conclusion that the singularity and lack of precedent in the husselman case are seen only in the ej kosure and punishment of theuil ty oue one and the honorable conduct of the attorney for the defence lawyers seem to think it their business rather to work for the thet interest ln of their clients than for the right the vindication of the law and the triumph ofa of justice ustice and few of them would tae take the course of alexander campbell the of bribe bribery ry and perjury is aloa ly rare and therefore those crimes brimes increase with fearful rapidity and society pays the penalty of winking atoff at official iniquity and corruption the retribution that ba has suddenly overtaken husselman p lipold be a matter matte of in the golden state efaw and if the exam examples liles ot of attorney campbell and judge morrison Mor rleon were followed by lawyers and courts generally crime would be visited with judgment and the guilty would not go scot free as la is now frequently the case to the d discredit of our judicial system aud the great majority of society and the country |
