Laurel and Hardy at Harrisburg

Harrisburg, March 13—Certain aspects of the Harrisburg Seven trial give you pause. The Harrisburg Patriot is barely on the newsstands, announcing that Daniel Berrigan cannot enter the courtroom because he is a possible witness, when, hey presto, there is Father Dan sitting in the courtroom right next to Mrs. Leonard Boudin, wife of the chief attorney for the defense. And just when you think that Spiro has overstated his case, some media correspondent smooches one of the defendants: It is, perhaps, the kissingest courtroom in the history of Englishspeaking jurisprudence.

The prosecution presented nothing of substance that was not known to the public months ago. There is the celebrated (and edited) correspondence between Father Philip Berrigan and Sister Elizabeth McAlister, brummagem Abelard to a banal Heloise. And there is Boyd Douglas, the government’s key witness. There are no surprises, no outbursts.

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Sheldon Moody Smith

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Harrisburg, March 13—Certain aspects of the Harrisburg Seven trial give you pause. The Harrisburg Patriot is barely on the newsstands, announcing that Daniel Berrigan cannot enter the courtroom because he is a possible witness, when, hey presto, there is Father Dan sitting in the courtroom right next to Mrs. Leonard Boudin, wife of the chief attorney for the defense. And just when you think that Spiro has overstated his case, some media correspondent smooches one of the defendants: It is, perhaps, the kissingest courtroom in the history of Englishspeaking jurisprudence.

The prosecution presented nothing of substance that was not known to the public months ago. There is the celebrated (and edited) correspondence between Father Philip Berrigan and Sister Elizabeth McAlister, brummagem Abelard to a banal Heloise. And there is Boyd Douglas, the government’s key witness. There are no surprises, no outbursts.