The Daily clarion., 1866-09-04

County Courts.

upon the people No where has it
been able to secure that confidence and
respect which every branch of the
judiciary should have, and without
which no possible good can result
The members of the Legislature owe
1t to themselves to repeal the law, for
its practical workings reflect upon their
fitness for the office which they hold.
II is surprising that men of common
sense, many of whom are LAWYERS.
could have ever given existence to
such a court, confiding to such men, as
must necessarily compose the members
of the court, the grayest and most
complicated questions of law, involv
ing the liberty and property of the
the citizens ofthe State.
Another grave objection to it is that
1t mars our simple and effective judicia-
ry system, equal, if not superiorto the
system of any other State in the Union.
Fhis is done, by establishing a court
inferior to one of the courts established
by the constitution. The county court
is made court ''inferior to the circuit
court which is a step towards a re-
lapse into the complicated English
system, the very thing which the fra
mers of our constitution intended to
avoid
1t will be seen by reference to our
Constitution that the whole judicial
power of the State was vested in GER
tain designated courts; and it is clear
that it was intended the High Court of
Errors and Appeals should be the only
court Of appellate jurisdiction, except
in cases from magistrates court 1t
expressly provides that the circuit
court shall have original jurisdiction
in all cases when the amount involved
exceeds fifty dollars, and it is submit
ted whether the Legislature has the
power to confer any other jurisdiction
than that conferred by the Constitu-
ton. 1t has been held by the Su-
preme Court of the United States that
Congress has no such power over the
courts of the United States, and the
principle involved in that case is pre-
cisely similar to the one involved
here. Every court which the Legisla-
ture can establish is an inferior court
| only in the sense that the Circuit and
Chancery courts are inferior to the
High Court of Errors and Appeals and
and not in the English common law
sense of the term
Again; it was never designed by
| the trainers of the Constitution that
any of the jurisdiction assigned by it
to one of its enumerated courts could
be taken from it by the Legislature,
| and conferred upon an inferior court
| of its own creation. The Constitution
| has made provision for the dignity,
character and adaptness of certain
courts for the trial of certain causes :;
and it was never intended that the
Legislature should dispossess these
courts of jurisdiction over these
causes, and confide the determination
OF them to courts, by name and, in fact,
inferior to the constitutional courts
| This 1lro1oocifior is FOO o1oo- 70 ,J,,,;+
! of argument. The only courts which
| the Legislature has the power to estab-
| l;k ~ .vuIus VVIIUuII CIU JuLIo-
dlction with the constitutional courts,
having jurisdiction over the same mat
tiers which are assigned to the created
! courts. The Legislature has the power,
in other words, to divide the jurisdic-
ton assigned by the constitution
to certain courts, whenever the Legis-
lature has reason to believe that the
public interest requires it, and pro
vide for more expeditions trials than
the constitutional courts can give. To
allow the Legislature to go beyond
this, would be depriving the people of
one of the strongest safeguards which
the Constitution has thrown around
their lives, their homes and their pro-
perty.
In the early history of the State of
Mississippi, the Legislature exercised
the power given by the Constitution,
of establishing inferior courts; and
the criminal court for the counties of
Warren, Adams, Claiborne, jefferson,
and Wilkinson, was established (See
Acts of 1886, page 25.) A court
similar to this is what we need at pres
ent in every circuit court judicial dis
trict The district attorney for the
circuit court can be the attorney for
the criminal court, and whenever the
terms of the two courts happen at the
same time and place, let it be provided
that the circuit court shall try the
causes which may be ready for trial.
It is known that in England when the
court of kings bench is in session at
the same time and place with some
of the other courts, the former assumes
the trial of all causes where there is
concurrent jurisdiction.
This plan would, under competent
salary for the judge, give us court
which would be creditable to the State;
would not disfgure our present admir-
able judiciary system, and would
secure that confidence in appeals to
law for rights and protection, without
which the objects of the judicial de
partment of the government must be
ineficiently attained. S.
New Orleans Correspondence.
New ORLEANS, Sept. l, 1866.