NEW TRIAL LIKELY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21579, 5 December 1944, Page 4

NEW TRIAL LIKELY

ALLEGED SEDITION U.S. JUDGE’S DEATH PROTRACTED HEARINGS NEW YORK, Dec. 1. The Chief Justice of the District of Columbia Federal Court, Mr. Justice Richer, who was presiding over a protracted mass sedition trial, died last night. The proceedings commenced last April, and originally 30 defendants were accused of conspiring to disafl’ect the loyalty of the American armed forces and establish a Nazi form of Government in the United States. One defendant died during the trial and two others were dismissed from the proceedings, which at their outset were marked by uproar and confusion leading to six attorneys and one defendant being fined 1220 dollars for contempt. Recently the proceedings were confined to the afternoon sessions to enable the defence lawyers to carry on their own practices. Most have been serving without fee. The Justice Department said that the judge's death meant a now trial.