Isserman Says Communist Trial Witnesses Were Not Trustworthy

Abraham J. Isserman, one of the defense lawyers in the recent Communist trial in New York, last night characterized the government witnesses in the case as "the most untrustworthy elements of the community." Isserman's speech, delivered to an audience of about 100 in Emerson D, was sponsored by the Harvard chapter of the National Lawyers' Guild.

"The right to keep your opinions to yourself has been destroyed by FBI agents who join organizations to spy on the members," Isserman stated. "What is being built up in America is a secret police . . . and where there is a secret police, you can't have a democratic society."

Isserman has recently been sentenced to four months in jail for contempt of court, on the basis of his behavior during the Communist trial.

Charges Vagueness

The attorney condemned the vagueness of the government's indictment of the Communist leaders, charging that the defense never knew to "what lectures, what books and pamphlets, what doctrines of Marxism-Leninism" the prosecution was referring.

He also complained that until the time of Judge Medina's charge to the jury, the meaning of "wilfully and knowingly" in the indictment was unclear.

Osmund K. Frankel, a director of the American Civil Liberties Union, proceded Isserman on the platform and discussed the constitutional aspects of the Smith Act, under which the 11 Communists were convicted, and prophesied a reversal of the conviction.