Page 4 University Daily Kansan
Student Judges Stop Trying Own Cases
By R. Dennis Bowers
An agreement between the student court justices to free their own comrades of traffic fines as compensation for time spent on the bench. is at an end.
David Mills, chief justice of the court, estimated that such an agreement had been in effect for "the last eight or nine years," but that he had "called a halt to the practice because he could not find any justification for it."
The story of this long-entrenched tradition of student court personnel automatically judging their own cases "nolie pros" (no prosecution) came out after a strange network of ironies and coincidences were found upon examination of police files and court documents.
It was established that:
- Justices of the student court have been appealing and passing their own traffic fines without bringing them up in court. The fines are judged "nolle pro" when they come up in court. This means that the offense was "obviously justifiable" in the justices' eyes and should not be tried.
- These same justices are sometimes sitting in on their own cases. They "continue" their own cases until they can sit on the bench (the court judges rotate, three sitting on each court session) and then do away with their ticket and fine. These fines sometimes reach figures amounting to $60.
- The justices, possibly eight or nine years ago, began an "unwritten agreement" that justices could have one free noelle pros (ticket) per year as compensation for sitting on the student court."
- This setup was halted only this fall when Chief Justice David Mills decided that "the rule is not justifiable and we will not continue it."
THE SITUATION WAS REvealed through a study of both student court records and campus police files after a law student quipped one day, "Tickets are just a big joke in the law school. They never have to pay them."
An investigation into the last three months of court sessions revealed that Dan Dreiling, Junction City third year law student and a student court justice this fall, had appealed a ticket for $16 and then continued his case for two sessions until it fell on the same night that he sat as a justice. Nov. 6.
Mills said last night, "Dreiling wanted to avail himself of that agreement (to automatically nolle pres his ticket) and I told him no, that the ruling was not in effect anymore.
"THE FIRST TWO TIMES Dreiling continued his appeal he was figuring on using his free nolle pros. Then he dropped the appeal since he didn't have any case at all . . . he didn't have a chance."
Asked when the agreement among the chief justices went into effect, Mills said, "I don't know just how far back but it was in effect when we came on the court last year. I imagine it has gone back eight or nine years but that is just hearsay"
Upon noticing that all of the justices cases which were appalled were nolle pressed, an inquiry was made at campus police headquarters to open the files of the court appeals.
Poise Chief Joe Skillman would not release the court records of the appeals because of ASC bill #4, section 5C which reads, "The student court shall keep a permanent record accessible to any member of the student body, but not for publication" unless expressed permission from the ASC is gained.
JERRY DICKSON, Newton senior and student body president, released the records for investigation.
The records showed the following court justices had tickets nolle pressed during last semester. Four of the seven fines which were nolle pressed were $16 tickets, the highest prized ticket.
Joel Sterret, Dec. 19 ($4)
Joel Sterret, Dec. 19 ($4)
Dan Dreiling, Feb. 27 ($4)
J. Richard Smith, March 3 ($16)
Charles Wetzel, May 1 ($8)
Dan Dreiling, May 15 ($16)
Robert Luce, May 15, $16)
Charles Wetzel, June 26 ($16)
The noille prossed cases had the following effect on the justices trafa-
tice finer:
Dan Dreiling, fined $30, paid $10
Robert Luce. $30. $4
Charles Wetzler, $30, $6
J. Richard Smith, $62, $48
All of these cases may be entirely legal. However, no member of the student court officiating body who appealed a fine was tried last semester. All were nolle prosessed.
Last semester's tickets amount to a total loss of $78 for the state of Kansas.
If, as has been estimated, the court justices have been practicing under their "agreement" for nine years, the total amount lost to court justices would amount to $1,404.
PAUL E. WILSON, professor of law, said last night after being informed of the situation, "I think that if the student court is to call itself a court or to purport to carry out the functions of the court, then it must function like a court."
Prof. Wilson continued, "If the facts you have are correct, it certainly arouses suspicion. The student court is an administrative tribunal; the rules are not spelled out in a set law and I assume the procedures could deviate some from regular court procedures.
PROF. WILSON SAID this morning that as far as he can find out, there is no faculty sponsor of the student court. He said "The court is not connected to the School of Law except that the Dean (James Logan) appoints the court justices."
James K. Logan, dean of the School of Law, said today that he knew nothing about the practice. "I can assure you that if there were such a practice I would stop it. I would be incensed to find out that it was going on now and David Mills assures me that no such practice now exists.
Commenting on the fact that court records prove Charles Wetzler sat as a justice on his own case on May 1, Prot. Wilson said, "It is certainly not for a justice to sit on his own case."
LOGAN, EXPLAINING the nolle pros decision in regular judicial courts, said, "If it got into the wrong hands it could be used very disreputedly."
He said that in a nolle pro塞 case, the prosecutor decides not to prosecute the defendant and therefore the court finds him innocent without trial. Therefore, Logan said, "the prosecutor would be the guy you should investigate."
It is highly possible that not all the court justice's cases which were nolle prossed took advantage of the Two such appeals were made by Drreling.
Logan said that the appeals of the court justices should either be tried by another body or by "at least the other (student court) justices."
"On the other hand, if the court does do a service, it must act within certain limits of fairness and decency."
300 Airmen Face Trial For Guatemala Revolt
Ambassador Carlos Urrutia Aparicio, Guatemalan representative to the OAS, was said to have advised a special OAS committee studying Communist subversion that such information would be available "within a few days."
Defense Minister Enrique Peralta Azurdia said the men being held for trial include officers, non-commissioned officers and specialists.
Initially, Dreiling said his car was stolen twice and it was moved to an illegal parking place where he received his tickets.
GUATEMALA CITY — (UPI) About 300 officers and men of the air force face trial in connection with Sunday's abortive revolt at the airbase here, it was announced last night.
Guatemala is also reported to be planning to present the Organization of American States (OAS) with evidence it claims would link the Cuban government to Sunday's brief revolt against President Miguel Ydi-goras Fuentes.
Peralta said 11 persons were wounded in the uprising, during which the Guatemalan "White House" and an army barrack were attacked by rebel planes.
FOLLOWING ARE his appeals:
Feb. 12, Zone U—“I parked my car
near Pi Phi house and left my keys
in car. Upon returning someone had
moved my car into Zone U and I
received a ticket for having no permit.”
(The three colonels described as the chief leaders of the uprising escaped by air to nearby El Salvador with a captain, presumably the pilot of the getaway plane.)
This casualty figure apparently referred only to soldier-victims of the rebellion. It had previously been reported that two civilians were killed and scores wounded, including the wife of a U.S. embassy official.
KU SPORTS
on
7:30 a.m. Daily Sports Shorts
DIAL KLWN 1320
5:00 Today ___ Jayhawk Locker Room
May 15, unknown location — "I left my car parked on off campus residence. My car was borrowed without my permission and a no permit ticket was issued. I had no knowledge of where car was parked and did not authorize its use."
5:20 ___ Tom Hedrick Sports
Charles Wetzler, May 1—Stouffer Place—"I came home from the hill at 1 a.m. Our parking lot in front of Stouffer was full. I parked in yellow area in front of island. Considering the time I parked and the fact that the lot was full, it seemed like the reasonable thing to do."
ANOTHER APPEAL which was nolle pressed is:
A law student who did not wish to be identified said, "Most of their reasons will be equitable because they know the reasons to give."
Former Ambassador Will Discuss Cuba
The former Cuban ambassador to Great Britain, who was forced to defect after condemning the Castro regime, will speak on campus Jan. 23.
Serrie Rojas will discuss the Cuban crisis at an open lecture in the Fraser Theater. His appearance is being sponsored by the Current Events Committee of the All Student Council.
Senor Rojas' arrest was ordered after he declared he would not serve under a communist government. During the Batista dictatorship, he was involved in the acquisition of armament supplies for Castro forces.
An economist by profession,
Senor Rojas is presently working
on confidential diplomatic matters
in Washington.
College students sometimes mature during their four-year stay. More often, they become confused and overwhelmed.-R. G. Descord.
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