Word: murtagh
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...York City police stations and department stores remain in jail. Since April, they have been unable to raise money for their high bail, which ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 each. Last week they underlined their unwillingness to cooperate with New York Supreme Court Justice John M. Murtagh, who had said that he would not reopen their pretrial hearings until they promised in writing to behave in court (TIME, March 9). Instead of complying, the Panthers demanded a reduction in their "contemptuous" bail and a reconsideration of the charges against them by a grand jury composed largely of poor...
...same time, lawyers for the Panthers began a legal challenge to Murtagh's novel tactic for bringing order back to the courtroom. In a request to State Supreme Court Justice John J. Leahy for a writ of habeas corpus, they contend that Murtagh's action has the effect of holding the defendants in contempt without the safeguard of specified charges or an opportunity to rebut them in a formal procedure. Murtagh's demand for a written promise to behave, they added, violated their rights by asking them to admit prior criminal behavior...
Jurists are now pondering new ways to restrain unruly defendants without violating their constitutional rights. Judge Murtagh's approach is simple but still may prove ineffective. Like Judge Hoffman in Chicago, Murtagh believes that the defendants will eventually play by the rules if they are punished enough. But the Panthers may well choose to remain in jail while they petition the federal courts for release on constitutional grounds. At the same time, lengthy incarceration will enhance their image as martyrs to judicial prejudice. That image is already well formed; twelve of the 13 have been in jail since last...
...Judge Irving Kaufman. But some attorneys are radicals and rebels themselves; they often refuse to act as officers of the court. At times, both in Chicago and in New York, defense lawyers seemed as intent on confrontation as their clients were. This attitude infuriated Judge Hoffman and moved Judge Murtagh to comment critically that "counsel in no way admonishes his client when these outbursts occur." To that, Panther Defense Attorney Gerald Lefcourt retorted: "The judge has been trying to use the lawyers as scapegoats because he has absolutely no control over the defendants...
Ultimately, order in the court rests on the dignity and self-control of the individual judge. Judge Hoffman allowed the Chicago Seven and their lawyers to goad him into displaying an obvious bias in favor of the prosecution. By contrast. Judge Murtagh so far has stoically put up with Panther provocations day after day, and even adjourned the trial just when the defendants wanted to commemorate the birthday of Panther Huey Newton. He had clearly studied the experience of colleagues-like U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Harold R. Medina, who says: "With these disruptive people, the more you kick them...