Contempt Charges Face Kamin Today

Leon J. Kamin '49 will go on trial for contempt of Congress in Boston Federal Court this morning.

A long series of legal maneuvers and decisions will thus reach a climax in the same building where Kamin refused, in January 1954, to tell Senator Joseph R. McCarthy about his former Communist associates.

The trial before Judge Bailey Aldrich '28 and a jury may result in a guilty verdict on any of six counts in Kamin's indictment. If convicted, Kamin faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail and $1,000 fine for each count.

This week's events do not signify the end of the legal road for Kamin, however. If he is convicted, his lawyers will certainly appeal. Several similar cases, such as that of teacher Corliss Lamont '24 and author Harvey O'Connor, also await decision and may affect Kamin's.

Will Argue McCarthy's Authority

Conflict between the U.S. government attorneys and defense lawyers will probably not center about the facts of Kamin's refusal. More likely, the two sides will argue whether the committee McCarthy then headed had the power to inquire about Kamin's associates.

The defense has been contesting this power ever since Kamin was indicted last December. They asked without success last spring that Judge Aldrich dismiss Kamin's indictment mainly on the grounds that the McCarthy committee had exceeded its authority.

The first business of the trial this morning will be the selection of a jury. If this process, often quite lengthy, goes smoothly, the government lawyers will begin their case immediately.

Their first witness may be Senator McCarthy. The Wisconsin Senator was the major government witness in last week's contempt trial of author O'Connor. His testimony here will probably be similar to the defense of his committee's authority he delivered against O'Connor.