How to Avoid Courtroom Tilt

To the Editors: The Essay "Fair Trials and the Free Press" [Oct. 28] raises the very valid question of how to deal with choosing and managing a jury in a trial involving prominent figures or those made conspicuous by events.

Prospective jurors are not all TIME readers. Many lack the background or education necessary to understand that the influences to which they have been subjected in everyday life and their longstanding prejudices must be cast aside, and that only the evidence presented in the courtroom and the law as given by the judge to apply to their evidence analysis will be the clay from which their verdict is molded. Sequestration is a poor solution. It makes service on the jury a form of imprisonment and reduces the pool of available qualified jurors.

Press restraint is almost a contradiction in terms. So it is up to the judiciary. The judge must be a modern legal entrepreneur who can manage the business of a fair trial by persuading jurors to be objective, eliminating those who cannot be and exercising a restraining influence on all extraneous forces that could cause a tilt. Theodore R. Kupferman, Associate , Supreme Court Appellate Division, New York City

As one who participated as a defense attorney in two of the four cases you mentioned (Dr. Sam Sheppard and My Lai Four--Captain Ernest Medina), I have vivid memories of the dynamics of those trials and the publicity difficulties that had to be overcome.

The first Sheppard trial was a shambles and infected by the worst kind of yellow journalism. But in voiding Sheppard's conviction the U.S. Supreme Court laid the blame exactly where it belonged--at the feet of an insensitive trial judge who had failed to take even the most basic steps to protect his jury. Not to be overlooked, however, is the second Sheppard trial held in that same "poisoned" city, Cleveland, where a determined trial judge produced an obviously fair proceeding. Although I agree with Judge Elliot's reversal of the Calley conviction on other grounds, I cannot believe that pretrial publicity was a factor in the original verdict.

It is my sad belief that both the courts and the press have been overreacting to the Sheppard decision since it came down in 1966. I have seen trial judges issue gag orders when they, because of their own harsh conduct, have been the chief beneficiaries. I have seen seasoned journalists cower in the face of oppressive orders and then insist on their right to print a defendant's criminal record the night before jury selection begins.

A degree of professional understanding among the bench, bar and press would solve all but the knottiest problems. Where conflicts cannot be resolved, I say let the press have its head. If we do our best to provide a fair trial and fail, we can always have a retrial or dismiss the case. F. Lee Bailey Boston

The balance between a fair trial and a free press has swung away from the right of the press to report the news to a concerned public. A distinction has to be made between disinterested and uninterested persons in selecting jurors. Our juries were meant to be composed of disinterested persons--those who are impartial--and not only the uninterested, who do not care to find out what is happening in the world around them. Buz Swerkstrom Atlas, Wis.

Housing Woes

It is apparently true that the building industry is depressed, and it is probably true that we all ought to be worrying about it. But somehow, when I think of the shoddy houses that have been going up, when I think of the natural landscapes that have been destroyed, when I think of the disputes that have found the developers on the wrong side, I cannot suppress a feeling that poetic justice is at last being served. If you would publish a list of Reasons to Love Builders, perhaps I could work up the sympathy that patriotism presumably demands. David K. Jordan La Jolla, Calif.

While mortgage rates are the most visible cause of problems for the housing producer and consumer, they are by no means the main source of the inflation in the construction field. The cost of money borrowed by every supplier and subcontractor causes the unprecedented numbers we work with now. A "shot in the arm" to our industry in the form of token mortgage money at a reduced rate will only cause our suppliers to rush to other lenders for hidden high-interest money. Their incentive: to cash in on the flurry of building activity. The net result on costs would be zilch.

Until the usury laws are geographically uniform and encompass all lending, we can only look for the sickness of our industry to spread until it permeates every area of our country and our economy. Bud Plone, President Plane-Cooper-Plone Corp. Playa del Ray, Calif.

How did you arrive at the figure of $43,400 as "the current average price of a used single-family house with four bedrooms on a half-acre plot of land" in the Chicago area?

If such an "average" house, or anything close to it, exists within a 50-mile radius of Chicago, please let us know where. My husband has been commuting to Chicago for over a year because we can't afford to move there. Dorothy Embree Westlake, Ohio

I respectfully suggest that you abolish your Board of Economists, no two of whom can agree on what the problems are, much less on how to solve them. Supplant them by logicians, who at least understand basic addition and subtraction. And add a philosopher or two who will ask, "Growth for what?"

Inflation, like almost all our other problems, can only be controlled when population is stabilized, preferably at levels substantially less than at present. Gilbert L. Wolfe Schenectady, N. Y.

Detente Is Bipartisan

Now that the mid-term election campaign is over, we Democrats should overlook President Ford's lapses--his preposterous statements about our party's Congressmen and Senators. We should give him every opportunity to retrieve his earlier excellent proposals for close collaboration with Congress.

He is about to engage in personal discussions with General Secretary Brezhnev on subjects vital to our national interests, including the control of offensive nuclear weapons and peace in the Middle East. I know that there is confusion in Moscow over leadership in the U.S. It is important that it be made as clear as possible that the overwhelming majority of Americans want the President to succeed in reaching agreements in our mutual interest.

In my talk with Brezhnev last June, he indicated his belief that with give and take on both sides, important new agreements could be reached on a step-by-step basis. I hope that when the President consults with congressional leaders before he leaves, they will assure him of maximum support and encouragement.

It is extremely important in these personal talks between the two leaders that they break down some of the unreasonable fears on both sides and agree at least on guidelines for continuing negotiations by Dr. Kissinger and our other officials on SALT and other matters in order that more comprehensive agreements can be reached when Mr. Brezhnev visits the U.S. next spring. W. Averell Harriman Washington, D.C.

The writer, who was F.D.R.'s envoy to Moscow during World War II, was the principal U.S. negotiator of the 1963 limited ban on nuclear tests.

Europe's soft underbelly may not be far from Communism's grasp. As Americans, we should ready ourselves for the possibility of a partial Communist takeover in Europe. We must either bend our idealism in favor of friendly co-existence or more actively support the anti-Communist forces in Southern Europe. Janice L. Morrison Leawood, Kans.

Rhoda Tackles Football

Rhoda is the best thing to happen to Monday night TV including pro football. Before, TV was boring, and complaints to my football-watching husband were useless because there really wasn't anything else worth watching. Now he takes time out from the game so that I can enjoy Rhoda. He likes it too. (Mrs.) Tootie Jackoniski Houston

Why such a gush of purple journalism hell-bent on convincing us that the heirs of Mack Sennett, Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin are a few MTM situation comedies?

Cuteness and perkiness are not the stuff of great or even good comedy. Real comedy always has a touch of insanity, and there's no madness at MTM. That enterprise is more a matter of computerized, businesslike calculation.

Television, Mary and Rhoda included, is still aiming down at what it considers to be the broadest possible audience. It is not because of any lack of talent, but rather because of the industry's opinion and our own lazy expectations of what TV should or could be. Cash Lockhart Clay St. Louis

Since when are females in their 30s known as "girls"? Come on now. If Carroll O'Connor and Edward Asner had been on the cover, would you have referred to them as "TV's Funny Boys"? Patricia Henderson Newark

Whoever wrote the article on Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper is suffering from a terminal case of cutesie. Normally I would have groaned or hissed at the atrocious gags and half-witted attempts to outwit MTM's superwits, but I didn't have enough energy left to react. After all, I had just been nearly punnelled to death. (Mrs.) Kathryn Brock San Diego

Let 'Em Burn?

Concerning the Government's new policy of letting certain forest fires burn [Oct. 28]: there must be a better way. I can't believe that officials will ever explain their position successfully to the public.

As long as the cost of lumber, newsprint and other wood-based products keeps rising, and as long as Administration policy calls for sacrifice because of shortages, it seems penny-wise and pound-foolish to allow the destruction, in minutes, of what it takes a century and more for Mother Nature to produce. Caleb Frantz Bethel, Pa.

The new National Park Service policy is wonderful. Of course fire should be controlled when it is a hazard to human life, real property and forest areas of high economic value. But natural fire should be allowed to rage across forests of no timber value or parks where logging is not permitted. In this way the ecosystem is renewed.

Since World War II our population has changed from rural to urban. In the process of urbanization the public has forgotten everything it knew about forests, wildlife and ecosystems. The re-education process after years of lessons from Smokey the Bear is going to be nearly impossible. James E. Forbes Averill Park, N. Y.

Old Soldier's Tale

To me, one of the best stories about General George S. Patton tells of the time he was a lieutenant attached to John Pershing's punitive expedition chasing Pancho Villa into ignominy down in Chihuahua. Patton hauled in, trussed to his car's hood like a prime winterkilled buck, the body of a bountied and renowned Villista "general." He had bagged the man with his pistol.

Your reviewer can say what he will [Oct. 28], but the old s.o.b. was the best fighting general this country produced in 100 years. Blumenson's book should make today's bland Pentagon executives shrink into their swivel chairs. Bill Davidson Alamosa, Colo.

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