Wednesday, September 10th, 1913: Judge Leonard Strickland Roan, The Atlanta Journal

Search for:

Reading Time: 6 minutes [942 words]

 

PAGE 1, COLUMN 1

He is expected to succeed Judge Hill

On the court of appeals bench. He is at present judge of the Stone Mountain circuit.

NEW ATLANTA COURT

WILL SHIFT JUDGES

ON SEVERAL BENCHES

Judge Benjamin Harvey Hill

Probably Will Be Appointed

by Governor Slaton to Pre-

side Over New Court

AT LEAST THREE COURTS

ARE EXPECTED TO CHANGE

Judge L. S. Roan Likely Will

Go to Court of Appeals, and

Charles S. Reid Become Circuit Judge

Changes in the judgeships of three Georgia courts are expected to come about as the result of the general assembly's creation of the fourth division of the Atlanta circuit.

Governor Slaton has given no public estimation as to who he intends to appoint to preside over the new Atlanta court, which will handle the criminal cases of Fulton County, but it is generally believed that he will name Judge Benjamin Harvey Hill, at present chief judge of the state court of appeals.

Judge L. S. Roan, of the Stone Mountain circuit, who, under a special act at the legislature has for several years presided over the criminal division of the Fulton superior court, will, it is said, be appointed to the court of appeals to succeed Judge Hill and Solicitor General Charles S. Reid, of the Stone Mountain circuit, is understood to be scheduled for Judge Roan's successor.

Just who the governor will appoint to succeed Solicitor Reid cannot be forecast as there are about a half dozen prominent attorneys of the Stone Mountain circuit who are said to be candidates for the place.

The new Atlanta judgeship carries with it a salary of $5,000 a year. Judges of the court of appeals receive $4,000 a year, and the judge of the Stone Mountain circuit gets $3,000. The solicitor general of this circuit derives his compensation from fees.

Judge Hill has been chief judge of the court of appeals ever since it was organized in 1907. He is a brother to the late Charles D. Hill, who was for many years solicitor general of Fulton County. Judge Hill preceded Charles D. Hill in this office, having served as solicitor general of Fulton County for eight years. He was for four years United States district attorney for the northern district of Georgia, under President Grover Cleveland.

Judge Roan is one of the best-known criminal judges in Georgia, having been judge of the Stone Mountain circuit for a long term of years, during which time he has presided over some of the most famous criminal trials in the history of the state.

Solicitor General Reid has been the prosecuting attorney of the Stone Mountain circuit for several years and has demonstrated his ability as one of the first criminal lawyers of the state. He lives at Palmetto, Campbell County.

If the expected appointments are made by Governor Slaton, then Judge R. B. Russell doubtless will be elected chief judge of the court of appeals. He has been a member of this court since its creation.

JUDGE BEN H. HILL

Chief judge of court of appeals, who will probably be named judge of the recently created Fulton County judgeship.

CHARLES S. REED

Solicitor of Stone Mountain circuit, who succeed Judge Roan as judge of the Stone Mountain circuit.

PAGE 11, COLUMN 2

Famous Frank Case Given

To Public in Book Form

Atlanta Publishing Company

Issues Volume Describing

in Graphic Form the South's

Most Famous Murder Mys-

tery Book Was Placed on

Sale at Local News Stands

Wednesday

"The Frank Case," is the title of a paper-bound volume of 144 pages which reached The Journal from the presses of the Atlanta Publishing company Wednesday morning. The book, which the author says is a detailed and faithful account of the south's greatest murder mystery, will be placed on the news stands for sale during Wednesday. Its price is twenty-five cents.

In twenty-two chapters the book deals with Mary Phagan's murder in the National Pencil factory on April 26, the mystery which surrounded her death, the efforts of the city private detectives to find the slayer, and the final conviction of Leo M. Frank, the young superintendent of the factory.

The Frank case is the greatest mystery of the south and probably no other cast ever attracted and held the interest of the Georgia public as did this mystery. If the author has made the most of his subject, he should have a story more gripping than is found between the covers of most novels.

"In no other murder case," remarks the author in his preface, "has there been such intense interest. It became more than a mere murder mystery; more than the story of a man of position charged with slapping in lustful passion a little factory girl."

In his preface the author states that he deals with phases of the case heretofore slighted or avoided and has endeavored at all times to handle all of the numerous angles of the case fairly and without favor.

"The story of the fearful crime," continues the preface, "of the principal developments, of the four months that followed it, and finally the story of the great trial, and finally the story of the great trial, where for a solid month the two greatest criminal lawyers in the south battled against the keen wit of Atlanta's solicitor general, have all been told in the newspapers. Many of the interesting features of the case those which made it more than a murder case have never been told to the public because the subject was too delicate."