ATTACK UPON A JUDGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19215, 2 January 1926, Page 2 (Supplement)

ATTACK UPON A JUDGE.

LITIGANT SENT TO GAOL. GROSS CONTEMPT OF COURT. REMARKABLE LONDON CASE. For committing "as gross a contempt of court as has been before this tribunal for a long time" (in tho words of Lord He wart), Henry Joseph David Freeman, of London, was sent to prison for eight months, convicted of having written vituperative and scandalous letters to Ms-, Justice Rocho.

Tho Attorney-General (Sir Douglas Hogg, K.C.), for tho Crown, said that Freeman brought an unsuccessful action against certain officials of the Royal Liver Friendly Society, nearly two years ago. He seemed to nurse a grievance because a counter claim was not proceeded with, and began to send letters and postcards to Mr. Justice Roche, who tried the case.

This was brought to the nctice of tho Public Prosecutor, but although he was warned about pursuing such a course Freeman persisted, saying he appreciated the nature of his acts, and telling a police officer that he had a calendar showing the judge's movements on circuit and would send tho letters at the rate of threo a day. Sentences from tho letters were:—• "I have stated in open court that you have betrayed justice and brought disgrace upon the English Bar. . . . You said that I should consider myself lucky not to be in prison. ... I daro you to send me to prison. You have betrayed your judicial oath. ... You are a liar, coward, and corrupt- administrator of justice."

"Mr. Freeman has raado a grave attack upon the honour and character of a learned judge and openly scandalises him and attacks the administration of justice," said Sir Douglas Hogg. "That is as gross a contempt of court as can be committed, becs.use it tends to shake confidence in the administration of justice. It also hampors a judge in the fair and adequate performance of his duty. Nobody has tieen anxious to act harshly or drastically, but as Mr. Freeman persists in spite of warnings, there is no alternative but to take steps to stop it."

Sir Douglas quoted the case of Rex. v, Vidal to illustrate the nature of the allegations made by the Crown against Freeman, and said -ho was not sure that the Mr. Vidal in the case had been cautioned.

An elderly man standing in court shouted, "I am Vidal. I was not cautioned." He was ejected. Addressing the court, Freeman said:— "When I come across a judge who willingly corrupts justice, I say that man should bo exposed in every sense of tho word. I withdraw nothing, nor do I apologise in any way to Mr. Justice Roche. "I sent the whole of the documents to Sir William Jovnson-Hicks (Home Secretary) and Sir Archibald Bodkin (Director of Public Prosecutions). If I produced these documents there is not a man or woman in this court who would not say of the judge, 'this is a man who has committed corrupt perjury.* "Corrupt Claim." "Judgment was given by thejudge in a wilful and corrupt claim. He would not let me fight their counter-claim because he knew it was a fraudulent one. They have taken every step to ruin me, so that I am destitute and a wreck l physically. Had I been the biggest, rogue walking the streets of London I coulH not have been treated worse.

"Mr. Justice Poche is corrupt, and should be put on his trial. I have invited him to take criminal proceedings against me, but he has not I say again, in public, he is a liar, a coward, and an unlawul, wilful, and corrupt administrator of justice."

Mr. Justice Avory: Did you appeal against; the judgment in your action?—• No. I was three days out of time, because I was undergoing dental treatment at the London Hospital, Continuing, Freeman said that during the trial it was obvious from his attitudo that Mr. Justice Roche had had &. conference with the defendants. He (Freeman) challenged Sir Archibald Bodkin to bring the whole affair, into the open, but Si'' Archibald was afraid to, lest it should incriminate Mr. Justice Roche. He did not attack Mr. Justice Roche alone. He had mentioned Lord Sheffield and others by name in his letters, in the hope that they would proceed against him for criminal libel.

Freeman went on:—"Any honourablo ' man, attacked as Mr. Justico Roche has been, would have prosecuted mo. But ho does not. He goes to the Attorney-Gen-eral and Sir Archibald Bodkin, and gets me brought up for contempt of court—a thing I never thought of. Lord Gladstone.

"Lord Gladstone tfco other day called Captain Peter Wright a liar and a coward because the i&tter had attacked his dead father. T have done the same thing as Lord Gladstone with the one object, of getting Mr. Justice Roche into a court of law. But he will not come out. "Mr. Justico Roche is not above tho law. I ask for justice, and because I am a poor man I should not be kicked into the gutter. This matter should not bo hushed up because he is a judge, particularly after what Sii' Douglas Hogg and the Lord Chief Justice have said about the puritv of tho administration of justice."

Thon he declared, "I want to call Mr, Justice Roche,"

Lord Hewart: Certainly not. A young man with jet-black hair and a white face at this point shouted, "Judge Avory has no right to give judgment. I harve a charge against him, but he will not prosecute me. "You (to Mr. Justice Avory) are a rogue and a robber." The interrupter was carried struggling out of court.

Giving judgment, Lord Hewart said the court was not entitled to infer from anything that Freeman bad done that he was of unsound mind. They must presume he was sane and responsible for what he did, wrote, and said. During his imprisonment, however, tho authorities would have the opportunity of studying the state of his mind. Freeman, before being led away by tho tipstaff, said: "I humbly apologise to this court if I have committed contempt. That was not my intention."