The North-Carolina standard., 1845-10-08
For the North Carolina Standard.
The Administration of Justice in
North CarOIina.-(NO. 5.) sla

The Administration of Justice in
North CarOIina.-(NO. s.. la
Next to denial of Justice is the evil Of delay
OF it.
eff twere we'll d.nc when It's done then 'twere well
''It were done quickly"
g. In considering our administrative system
with respect to the speed Of its action, but very few
remarks will be necessary. Obviously any in
crease of that, without impairng other qualities,
will be an i'm Improvement Celerily in recovering
debts favors credit AT present twenty-one months
may elapse before creditor commencing suit in
the County Court for an uncontcsted debt can
recover Judgment and have return Of execution.
! We think this period must be unusually long.
Other suits often require years to complttehelr I'm
gerng passage TO final tribunal being delayed by
the difficulty of preparation and the necessary or
accidental absence of one or more Of the numer-
Gus witnesses, rendered necessary by the loose and
expanded form OF the issues. Certainly were all
questions of fact finally determined in their ORR
ginaI Court, and the terms of the Superior Courts
made more frequent, it would give great addition
al celerity. The narrowing Of the issue would
have this effect in an eminent degree, as we have
already remarked. Sham pleas are at present
very common mode of delaying q creditor: these
might be rendered more rare by imposing pen
atty, in the shape of increased costs, on pleading
false plea. At present there is no inducement
to permit judgment by default.
5. The chenpncSs with which justice can be OBJ
taincd is undoubtedly high though by no means
the highest accommodated of system. There
are no means bv which we can make an accurate
comparison between our own and other systems
in this respect. But are inclined to think that
however true it may be that worse article is sold
in our Courts under the name Of justice than else
where, yet it will be found upon consideration to
be no less in price. Where the greater part Of
the Judges receive no pay, and no peadings are
drawn and no records kept of course that part OF
the bill of costs which consists of the compcnsa
lion paid to the officers who perform those labors
will be small; but we are inclined to think that
the d, fcCncy in that part will, in most cases, be
more than made up by the increased size Of that
other part of the bill which contains the costs of
witnesses. 1t is the vast crowd of witnesses, un-
necessary under any other system, which renders
law in North Carolina either luxury for cpl
cules or covered abyss 10 swallow up suitors
for justice. The means by which these could be
dispensed with and that item he'd, have
bern pointed out.
But there is one error in our law or practice
with respect to costs, so monstrous and unreason-
able on y 10 require to be alluded to. Costs
are given TO successful party as an indemnity
for his necessary expenses in obtaining Justice;
and doubtless this was the idea cf the trainers of
our statute giving 10 successful party " all costs"
those which happened TO have been fixed by sta
tute. Thus fees TO counsel for an opinion, for
conducting a cause in Court, for attending the
taking OF depositions, and other expenses of like
nature, not recoverable but wholly lost to the
party, and therefore to be subtracted from the
amount of the redress the law gives him; nor are
the jury entitled TO consider them in their vcrdirt
Hence redress is necessarily in erery case incom-
pIete and deficient and the sarcasm of the anti
4 fhEfio al of1riet 1ef o6a
"That clients redressed til they're undone"
The English law, more consistent with theory,
gives complete indemnity, and repays q pariy
who has suffered an injury all his necessary ex,
penSes IN Obtaining redress; and 10 party wrong
fully disturbed by uufounded claim, all the ne.
cessary expcnsrs Of his defence ANY thing short
OF this docs not come up to the idea of Justice and
can never give that satisfaction 10 the. parties
which is an end 10 be desired
We have thus briefly (but we fear at too much
length for the patience Of our readers.) presented
some defects ant errors, which we conceive to ex-
lst in the North Carolina system of administering
justice II the evils be admitted, the mode of re-
moving them cannot be subject Of much difficult
ty. We suggest what occurs TO us:
l. change in the mode of appointing Justices
ot the peace. Let one be elected in each wear bv
the people of the several Captains districts. and
let them receive reasonable compensation. LIT
them constitute the County Court but we would
deprive that Court of its judicial powers except
as a Court of Probate. It's powers as County
Lfssla'ure-now not the least important of its
i!nctIons-over the County revenue, the poor. or
phans, roads, &c, would continue and even
enlarge. will be thus seen that it is no part ofI
our d0ctrlne las might at first have been supposed)
to make Judges elective by the people. The Jus,
tees would thus cease to be Judges for which neh
er education nor habit nor even inclination ounI
ifieS them but would continue to hold the no less
respectable office of Legislators and municipal adj
mInistrators for their County, for which thew
would possess every requisite and useful quaIiica-
ton; That Legislative power in general, and par
lcularly the power of taxation, should be eyer
cised only By the delegates of the people, is ner-
yadng principle of eur institutions. to which the
County Courts now form an injurious exception
independently of that objection in principle. the
present organization is by no means the best for
the discharge of their municipal duties. MANY
acts of County administration require the prescnce
Of a majority of the Justices Coming consder.
able distance from home, at busy seasons of ,ba
year, they are assembled with dificnltv and sen..
rate in haste. Every body is aware that on snch
occasions there is no opportunity for deIiberaton