A REPRIMAND FOR LAWYERS.
Change of Venue Taken Merely for
Delay, Judge Wallace Says.
Judge W. H. Wallace delivered a lecture to the attorneys for George Smith and J. C. Taylor, charged with arson in the first degree, because they asked for a change of venue to Judge Porterfield's division of the court.
"I'll grant these applications," the court said, "but I say now to all of the attorneys in the court room if a change of venue is taken from this court to the other division, the party need never afterwards come before me asking for a parole. This change of venue is a bad practice and is meant solely for delay. We labored to get the legislature to allow us two divisions of the court to expedite the trial of criminal cases, and then some of the attorneys try to nullify our efforts by spending time in going from one court to the other.
"I am charged by both defendants with being partial. This charge is false. I could not have been prejudiced against Taylor, because I have not tried him yet. I gave Smith a fair trial and the jury disagreed."
Smith and Taylor are charged with burning a restaurant at 113 West Twelfth street for the insurance.
