Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-08-15
The Police Court Investigation.
REEoRr OF THE COMMITTEE.

hr. Moore, from the Committee on Indebted
ness or the District, of the House OF Delegates,
con- Committee was GhaIggd w5h tine tine ps
OF the Police Court, yesterday submitted the
The PINAScIAL EXHIBIT.
IL embodies the report OF Judge Smell Of June
9Th. which presents an official exhibit of the
receipts expe mixtures, and business OF the court
and which was published IN The STAR at the
Following THIS, is a letter from the treasurer CT
the Metropolitan Police, giving detailed report
of the receipt and expenditures under the
former system, giving comparison with the
financial statement OF the Marshal of the Police
Court, and which was embraced in the cOmmu-
DicatiOn submitted by Judge Smell. The COM
paTisOn shows that what was formerly a source
of large revenue has 50 dwindled as 10 entail a
public expense; tor the cost OF assistant attor
ney TO attend TO business before the Police Court,
more than absorb the balance of several
hundred dollars which the judge pre-
sumes to be TO the credit of the court.
Tie Law organizing the court provides for one
salary of - 0o0. The judge has the privilege of
appointing two baiifts, each at 50 per day, say
SZ,130, and the clerk has the privilege of ap-
pointing one deputy clerk at 81 900 per year.
All of these officers have been appointed,
though, as the committee think, two or three of
them, in view of the attendance and services of
the metropolitan Police, are unnecessary. The
aggregate salaries of the entire court per year
cannot exceed, under the law Of Congress,
-, 100.
The report of the Marshal alluded to en-
braces years time less forty days, and shows a
total expenditure OF S19,TT, absorbing from
quarter TO quarter nearly the entire receipts of
the court, ieaving almost nothing TO be trans
ferred to the District treasury. All the disburse
Lnents were made by the court
IN CONTEMPT OF THE LAW or IT'S CREATION.
That law expressly provides ''that all fines, pen
altiCs, costs, and foTfeitures imposed taxed by
the Police Court" shall be paid over TO the mu-
nicipal authorities OF the District, who are
Quired 10 pay the salaries of the officers of the
court and the fees of the marshal. Appropria-
tons for the payment of these salaries were duly
made, as will he seen 10y reference TO the general
appropriation bill; but nevertheless, according
to the statement OF the clerk OF the court, made
TO the corporation of Washington, under date of
December l., the court, ON the order of the
Judge, took into its own hands the disbursement
OF the moneys it received, in order to pay the
salaries of the Judge and other officers and en-
plOyes, and also for the payment of marshal fees
and other incidental expenses. This was con-
trary to law. The Judge, in the communication,
says that "Tllese disbursements were made by the
marshal as the agent practically OF the several
corporations TO avoid the Inconvenience and ex-
pense incident TO the somewhat impracticable
and circumIocutOry provisions OF the law and in
no Case under authority of the court"
The statement Is III conflict with the report OF
the clerk 10 the corporation Of Washington. The
committee will nos attempt to reconcile the two
statements. The judge has stated to members
of the committee that the disbursements were
made with the consent of Mayor Emery. The
committee have made no inquiry of Mayor
Emery, but they incline to the opinion that ma
gesterial officers however high may be their
positions, are bound by law az every other citi-
zen, and that 10 agreement should have been
made by them III violation OF an act of Congress
The evil effects of this assumption are disclosed
III the testimony taken by the committee. The
desideTatHm seems to have been to increase the
fees of certain judicial olficers, nothing more;
and the public veal was secondary considera-
ton, if at ali taken into consideration.
The committee say that the success of
Authority
has led to tho insertion OF provision continuing
this abuse IN the act creating "A government for
this District. This provision was doubtless in
serted at the instance of some interested person,
and ought 70 b. repealed at tie earliest CppOr-
tunity. The court itself should urge its prompt
repeal, for the sake of its own honor, that its
judgments may not hereafter be tainted with
suspicion.
Passing TO the evidence, they say that
Tue COURT HAS FAILED
TO meet the public expectation in every respect.
lthas failed financially; it has failed to afford
prompt trials for trivial offences; il has failed to
afford warrants for prompt arrests of offenders.
except during the brief hours OF the sittings Of
the court; and il has failed in dignity by reason
OF the personnel of its officers, who, manifestly
30 the public, withouta just appreciation of the
responsibility of their positions, have over
stepped the bounds OF propriety, in many re-
spects, whilst culpably negligent in regard to
some Of their most important official duties.
FINES USACCoUSTED FOR.
On comparing the report of receipts and ex-
penditUres certified by Judge Smell TO the city
auditor, with the books OF the court and other
documents il has been found that number of
fines imposed by the court for offences against
the corporation are nnaccounted for. These
omissions amount in the aggregate to six hun
bred and seventy nine dollars. In explanation
OF these discrepancies, the deputy marshal OF the
court states that many persons, after fines had
been imposed upon them, were subsequently
discharged by the court without due notification
70 the clerk, and that some persons were sent to
Jail in the United States cases, while their com
mitment to the wOrkhOuse on corporation cases
was entered on the docket without proper ex-
planatory remark.
This NAV in part be So but the committee have
found many cases in which the fines were paid
of which there is no record on either the court
docket, the marShal's private or public docket
his report of all fines collected furnished
the auditor. And, further. your committee
cannot believe that the judge would, after
giving judgment and imposing "A fine, order the
release of the party without the paymeut of the
fine and costs, unless he did it in such way as
to have a record of the fact made on the same
docket in which his first decision appears. This
certainly has not been done.
The committee also find that
LARGE DISCREPANCIES
exist between the report of fines and costs coll
lected in United States cases, as submitted by
the marshal and certified to by his honor the
judge, and the actual testimony OF the parties
who paid the fines. Take, for instance, the case
of the HOeke brothers, (see testimony which
the deputy marshal admits is unaccOunted for.
The return to the auditor shows the payment of
a fine Of thirty dollars in each case; a private
pencil memoranda of the marshal shows that
fifty dollars paid in each case; the court
docket and the marshal's public docket each
show that the figures $50" have been bunglingly
altered from $780, while the parties them
selves, their counsel, (JOhn E. Norris, esq y and
the deputy clerk of the court each swear posi-
lively that fifty dollars was the amount OF fine
imposed
James Mccarthy paid his fine to Deputy Mar
shall Thomas, after having given notice of
appeal and held a receipt for the same; and vet
he was forced to pay an additional $40 costs be-
cause of the culpable negligence of Mr.. Thomas
in sending the case up after the fine had been
paid-thus compelling Mr.. Mccarthy to pay for
Thomas carelessnesS.
In the cases OF arrests of prOprietors of houses
OF nl-1ame there will be found many
GROSS ERRORS.
In some cases they were charged with and paid
one rate OF costs, and the record, return, and
books of the court show another rate. In some
cases the costs were enormous. And the evil
dence of these people does not show that there
was much sincerity in the pretense of the officers
of the court that they desired to break up the
business Of prostitution. On the contrary, it
seems that the parties arrested were virtually
licensed by the court OF by Deputy Marshal
Thomas; for where the fine imposed was beyond
their ability TO pay at the moment, they have
been Rermitted to reopen their houses under an
arrangement with the court for the payment of
the penalty in installments. The accommodation
thus afforded had the effect of
ENCOURAGING VICE
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