Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-01-05

son.ls Il il does mol exceed, the average I'M ~
,,ysIy employed:per day in Court. ho~ lons
how much the Judges work IN 'nen Tain
rnce room, it is Impossible W ..e hours
W. univ know thar the conference srhe
w, s, oo ion IN twelve in the morning ine
a,ounen,s of counsel are spun ous ~ 80 ~
:" ,a,e,n,n.hIr leneth-and il is no unusual 'n'ns
-, ~, a s,nolc case, OF no special importance u
= ,.H,.,,,y ~ consume week or len Gays IN lne
a. A,,,s,, Hours and days are consumed ID
ao7.I,na me onipions Of the Judges winch are
nrnha6, NOT heard by half dozen persons, ana
ihey might ascertain lheif contents qnite aS wei
nv reading ,hem il led with The clerk, as IS uohe
in some other states. a more useless waste o'
lime can hardly be imagined. Every useIu pur-
pose would be gained BY announcing the result
IN the Jude menl vi the court. Counsel are allow
ed 10 argue any Thing and every lhing,-no point
is So well settled that they may mott debate II, with
oul objection iron: The court. The facility win
which The court reverse their own previous Juds-
ments encourages this hab OF The bar III The oai
have come 10 regard nothing as settled law, ana
50 advise: these causes certainly contribute Iii-
mensely to relard the business OF The court. II
the court were required 10 sll live or SIX hours
day, he arguments OF counsel wouu be exceed
~ snuflene,i, and many case which now oCcu-
mes lwo or even three days in Inc argument,
would be finished in one day,-oT II The arSu-
meuts were, as in the Supreme Courts oil some ol
the States required 10 be IN wiring or IN PRINT, Inc
Judges might often times decide nall dozen
causes while they are now hearing Inc argument
ui one on such plan The cases Wouid DC ne"cl
argued, lor The mode oi preparing and presenting
lhe argument would be more deliberate. The
argument would be likely 10 have more weight,
for the coul could, al any moment, fecur ~ u,
and thus inc hazard Of misa apprehension q. mat
lenlIou be avoiied. Il is no answer 10 say that
The oral argument is more impresslve--for Ger
lsiu,y The impression has worn oil long before
The Judges recur IL the case 10 make up their
opipiops. From the nature OF lie subject, that
mode is IL be preferred which Will enabe The
court lu derive most aid from The argument-and
The clearness and force OF mUmenaiy impress
sion is mailer OF small memcnl compared with
The opportunity VI reading The argument teioe-
ra,ely. and recurring 10 II al pleasure. But
This plan though approved where II prevails, IS
moi favored BY some Vi the Richmond bar, and they
have al least This very manifest and inellgible
ground lur their objection 10 II, that II would
place The lawyers in other parts ol The State on
something like an equality with them, and Sc
riously interfere with their present monopoly OF
business in Inc Court oi Appeals. | 10 not per-
ceiye. however, why any body else should Join
them in such an objection. But these are no!
The defects oil the Judiciary system, in lis pracli-
cal operation, on which propose 10 commen-
Il is to one OF greater magnitude Than any Of
these, and not less concerned in accunulaling
business upon The docket Of the Appellate
Cour, that wish chiefly 10 call attention
The business Of the Circuit Courts is, as VIC all
know, Tor the most parl hurfedly done, especial
w in The country and in small counties. This
is. in a great measure, unavoidable in the
common law cases, where The legal ques-
lions must be decided, frequently of hand
in The progress oi the ulal before The
Jury. The Chancery cases are considered
uy the Judge in The bIiei recesses Of The Court
and generally under great disadvantages a.
night, il his mind and body ale not worn down
| by The fatigue Of The day, and in The morning:
before the session OF the Court, he must examine
! and decide these causes, as well as any CONNER
law business which he may have been SO ioIu
nate as 10 be able lu reserve Tor lIule delircIa
lion. He investigates The facts Of confused
and complex record in the noise and hustle per
haps OF a county tavern, or, al any rate, with :
| crowd Of other business pressing upon his mind
II is indispensable 10 look rapidly over The papers
and impossible 10 revise them with care. Iht
local questions that arise must be decided II
equal haste, and, generally, with no better light:
al hand than Hale's Index and Tales Digest
and il would be a miracle Indeed, u Inc Judge:
did not commit many plumbers, which, with more
lime and better opportunities, they would certain
| ly have avoided Chancery business, from II:
| character, requires debeTation and time, ant
especially where as in Virginia, the Judge i
compelled to 60 through almost every Commls
sionel's report, and 10 settle every dis
pured question Of tact or principle invoiv
ed in The accounts, and is moreover ntit
Iiatle 10 be reversed Tor any error apparent on lh'
face of the accounts that may have escaped m
detection, though not objected 10 BY counsel bl
| Tar The greater number Of cases IN The Court
| Appeals are cases in Chancery; and, IN mnci
mule Than hail. The DEGREES below are . =. -
was the decision Ui the Circuit Court affirmed
| being less than one-iouuh Of the whole number
VI twenty. cases al law, len were affirmed
making in the aggregate Of sixty.fye cases, only
twenty one affirmances, with forly-our reversas
Other volumes exhibit a similar dispropouion. |
| is impossible 10 regard these facts without con
| 81 c.ion, that something somewhere is radically
wrong. Ii is not ,ha, the circuit Judges are igno
rant; many OF ihem and not The least apt 10 b,
reversed are men OF profound learning and com
nensurae abilities. They are not corrupt;
more upright body OF men cannot be found
Most II them are diligenl; and those who arr
mol, for The most parl err rather in not deciding
cases al all, than in want OF proper attention, a:
lar as their Time and engagements will permit, L
those they do decide.
The state of things 10 which have alluded
results chiefly from The want OF time and oppor
tunily 10 do The business OF the circuits with de-
liberation and accuracy. The Chancery bust
ness especially is badly done, as The number Of
appeals and rsyersas altests; and The time con
slined by it prevents the judges from devoling
such attention 10 The common law bushes. as il
deserves. | am persuaded that errors in common
law cases would be far less frequent il the time
oi the Judge Out OF court was not so fully occu-
pied by III Chancery docket. As il is, neither
branch OF The business can be properly done
Every Judge Of The Circuit Courts, no doubt
feels that his errors are mainly Attributable 10
The circumstances under which hs is obliged 10
decide and soue Of The very best of them have
assured me that il is impossible 10 dispose OF The
chancery business with satisfaction 10 themselves
10 suiIors be they never dili.ent, in The time
which The present system allows them. The
Judges OF The Court Of Appeals are constantly
struck with the want OF drilberalion aud care,
evinced BY the records before lhem-and one Of
them, concurIing fully in the view | am now
urging, stated 10 me recently, that dozen ap.
peals had been granted within The lasI three
months Tor errors, sume Of law and some oi fact,
that could mol, he was confident, have occurred,
II The Judges below had had proper lime IL cons-
der The cases. lsubmit, therefore, that someh hing
should be done 10 insure greater accuracy in the
tccsi ons oil The Circuit Courts, by giving 10 the
Judges more time and better opportunities Tor de-
Gliding The causes, especially On the chanceIy
side. This, as il seems 10 me- Can lie easily Ell
iec'ed, without, in The least degree, impairng any
advantages Of the present system, or interfering
with any other proper reform. lproposs that but
one Chancery Cour shall be held in ciIcui.-
that The suits shall be brought and matuIed in III.
several countess as al presenl-lhal interIocutory
orders, mol involving any disputed mailer OF law
or fac, and DEGREES BY consent whether nierlocuo
~ or final, may be entered in The Circuit Cunr,s
as is now done that the cases, when maured
Tor hearing, or when it shall he necessary 10 de-
eide any disputed matter, shall be transferred To
The Chancefy Court, 10 which The clerk Of The
Circuit Cour! shall certify the proceedings in his
court, and whore they shall remain 10 be proceed
ed IN 10 final hearing. Or, as was suggested 10 me
by an eminent Judge, let there he one Chancery
Court in a District, 10 he held BY the Two Judges
OF that District, as might be conveniently done
by an easy Encouragement Of the present