Judgment on Conspiracy

The scene has become almost a ritual--a new group of shaggy-haired defendants accused of conspiracy to commit some form of sensational violence, then a weeks-long trial featuring the testimony of paid Government informers, and then a jury verdict of not guilty. Cleared of all charges last week by a federal district court jury in Northern Florida after only four hours of deliberation were the so-called Gainesville Eight, seven members of Viet Nam Veterans Against the War and one nonvet. They had been accused of conspiring to disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention--by means of, among other things, incendiary devices fired from slingshots and crossbows.

As the long list of not-guilty verdicts was being read by the clerk, the mostly-bearded, denim-clad defendants flashed gleeful smiles at jurors. U.S. Attorney Jack Carrouth shook his head silently.

The Gainesville Eight thus joined the Chicago Seven, the Camden 28, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Angela Davis, and several Black Panther groups who have beaten conspiracy indictments. There are no other major conspiracy trials pending at present. Conspiracy seems to spin in other directions these days, and the Justice Department has its hands full. It may well decide to pursue the prosecution of radicals less frequently in the future.

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