May 5, 1939: Howard charged with "Contempt of Court committed in the presence and hearing of the court. Adjudged to be in contempt of court." Fined $100 and sentenced to 30 days in jail. A margin note indicates "certif. of appeal 5/16/1939.
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December 9, 1939: Hearing on Howard's motion to set aside verdict/for new trial for Possessing Still and on his motion to set aside judgment on his contempt conviction. His motion is overruled, but judgment is modified. The $100 fine stands, but his 30-day sentence is suspended pending good behavior.
From a September 28, 2009 email message to me from Ed Payne:
Contempt citation for HOWARD MCLEMORE is an interesting story. A police officer named M. Hawkins had confronted 3 Creel brothers outside the Downs Cafe on Mobile [Street, Hattiesburg] and said that they were drunk and should get off the street. They responded (in typical peckerwood style) "We're running things down here" and jumped him. He pulled his gun and in the melee shot and killed Homer Quick, a farmer, and wounded at least one other person. It was the Creel brothers who were charged with manslaughter, which no doubt did not sit well with the Mobile [Street] regulars since, in the peckerwood view, Officer Hawkins should have kept his nose out of their business.
Howard attended the jury selection and, when a lawyer asked aquestion of Hawkins that he felt was to the point, he said, "Amen." A deputy heard him and reported his exclamation to the presiding Judge, by the name of Pack. He was hauled before the Judge and Howard asked what was the charge. The judge (by Howard's account) did not bother to respond and so, as he was being led away, he damned the judge. Three days later (May 8, 1939) Howard wrote a Letter to the Editor that was published the same date giving his version of this. As it happens, Judge Pack is a relation of mine--being, if I recall correctly, an uncle of my grandmother.
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