The PEOPLE v. Ferguson

Judgment in this case was announced at the May, i960, term, and this opinion sets forth the reasons for the conclusion then announced.

The case presents two important questions of criminal procedure. The first concerns the right of the People to a writ of error to review a judgment which sustained a “plea in bar” to an indictment and discharged the defendant, and the second concerns the scope and availability of a plea in bar.

The defendant is' one of the judges of the municipal court of Chicago. With 33 other persons, he was indicted for conspiracy to obstruct justice, to cheat and defraud the…