Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1897 — The Circuit Court. [ARTICLE]

The Circuit Court.

The trial of Frank Smith, the young Milroy Tp., boy who was arrested some months ago for chicken fixin, took place Monday. It seems that Smith and a short boy named Short went to John Southard’s house and Smith laid rude and lawless hands on an aged and innocent hen, and that Southard had been warned of the intended raid on his chicken roost and was watching for Smith and caught him right in the act. Some evidence was put in for the defence to show that the chicken raid was just a boyish frolic; and they also claimed that there was a put up job to get Smith caught in this fowl deed. The jury did not bear down very hard on the young, fellow, his sentence being $1 fine, 15 days in jail and disfranchisraent for one year. The ditch case from Newton Tp., of Shaffer vs Yeoman et a], which promised to cause a big trial, was remanded back to the commissioners, by the court, with instructions for them to appoint a new set of viewers. The land-agent’s commission case of Chas. J. Roberts vs Wm. fl E. Moore began its third trial Tuesday, before Special? Judge, J. W. Douthit. The jury in the Roberts vs. Moore case reached an agreement,

late Tuesday nignt. They found for the plaintiff and gave him a verdict of $25. He sued for $l5O, as agent’s commission on a land sale. Roberts will ask for a larger judgement on the jury’s answers to the interrogatories, and that failing will ask for still another new trial. The case has now been tried three times and a very large bill of costs has accumulated.