The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-24 00:00:00

MR. JUSTICE COLERIDGE.

The re-assembling of the Bar at the commencement
of the present term enables us to verify a statement
made to us some time since regarding the conduct of
Mr. Justice Coleridge during the last Western Circuit,
which we thought much too serious to publish si ithout
the most careful inquiry into the facts. A bare reca-
pitulation of these strikes us to be the severest censure
that can be passed upon a Judge.
He had no sooner taken his seat on the bench at
Exeter than he began discoursing on the value of the
public time, and showed (what then appeared) the most
unaccountable impatience to get through the cause list,
for which, as is much too frequently the case, an insuffi-
cient time had been allowed. The Judge, however, has
always the power of prolonging the Assizes (by
postponing the next commission) by a day, and
this, as it subsequently appeared, would have been
quite enough for the purpose. He first forced
two or three cases to a reference, which, as xegards
the parties, generally means that, though they have a
Judge, Jury, and counsel ready to decide their cause
of difference on the instant, and though every conceiv-
able expense of trial has been incurred, they shall con-
sent to pay a fresh Judge, give fresh fees to counsel,
bring up all their witnesses again, and postpone the de-
cision for months. He then tried what could be done
in the way of breaking down a case or two, by express-
ing a strong opinion at the commencement. Thus, he
told Mr. Erle, in one instance, that his client had no
defence, and that it was useless for him to go on. Mr.
Erie firmly but respectfully expressed an opposite opinion,
went on, and gained a verdict against the summing up
of Lordship, who, of course, felt anxious to verify
the
hisprediction
with which he started. Another experi-
ment was to dovetail trials—i. e., to try them halt
through, so as to fill up an odd hour. Thus, one trial,
commenced on the Tuesday, was adjourned over till the
Friday following ; and the Jury
common Jury) were
left lounging about the town, and talking over the
matter, in the interval. But the crowning experiment
was to come. There was a Special Jury cause, en-
titled the Queen v. Ames, which was known to involve
rights of great importance to the inhabitants of a town.
The expense of bringing it to trial had been: enormous,
and the entire town was pretty sure to be kept
in hot water till it was decided. Mr. Justice Coleridge
bent all his energies to break down the case for the
prosecution. As a last resort, ho went the unprece-
dented length of making an address to the jury before
the defendant's Counsel bad risen to address them ; but
this was cut short by the foreman of the jury, who told
his Lordship, in language there was no mistaking, that
they must hear more. He then made the case remanet,
which means that everything hitherto done is to go for
nothing, and that the cause is to be tried at the next
assizes as if it had never been called on at all. And
now let us draw attention, not to the cause of the
extraordinary conduct—Heaven forbid that we should
impute to a Judge the postponement of public duty to
private interests—but to a most singular coincidence,
the Cornwall Assizes began on the Monday ; on the
Wednesday Mr. Justice Coleridge left one of the
Queen's Counsel trying prisoners, and posted back to
Exeter to propose a connexion of his wife's- for the
situation of auditor to the Savings' Bank ; thus pre-
senting the rather startling spectacle of the senior Judge
of Assize mixing himself up with petty local politics.
He had his usual luck, for, by a strange fatality, his
candidate was beat.—Examiner.