The district attorney was asked if he had
realized the danger of bringing Justice Field to Stockton, where he
might come in contact with Mrs. Terry. The officer replied:
"We had intended that if Justice Field were brought here, Mrs. Terry
would be placed under the care of _her friends_, and that all
precautions to prevent any difficulty that was in the power of the
district attorney would be taken." That was to say, Mrs. Terry would
do no violence to Justice Field unless "her friends" permitted her to
do so. As some of them were possessed of the same murderous feelings
towards Justice Field as those named here, the whole transaction had
the appearance of a conspiracy to murder him.
No magistrate can lawfully issue a warrant without sufficient evidence
before him to show probable cause. It was a gross abuse of power and
an arbitrary and lawless act to heed the oath of this frenzied woman,
who notoriously had not witnessed the shooting, and had, but a few
hours before, angrily insisted upon having her own pistol returned to
her that she, herself, might kill Justice Field. It was beyond belief
that the magistrate believed that there was probable cause, or the
slightest appearance of a cause, upon which to base the issue of the
warrant.
Neagle was brought into court at Stockton at 10 o'clock on the morning
after the shooting, to wit, on Thursday, the 15th, and his preliminary
examination set for Wednesday, the 21st.
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