Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-10-30
AN ELECTIVE JUDICIARY.


fare and good name of the State, and
her newspapers and periodicals come to
rs loaded with arguments, some of them
displaying great research and learning,
and others the yeriest nonsense and
nettifogging, upon both sides of this
question. The problem that is so i'm
portant just now there is the constitu-
tonal amendment to be submitted to the
people at the next election, upon the
question Of return to the old appointive
method of selecting Judges of her Courts
Of Record instead of electing them by
the people as is now the practice there
The earliest system adopted under the
nresent United States government, is
that set forth in the constitution of an
appointment by the Executive and con-
frmation by the Upper House of the ma
tional Legislature. This was formerly
the rule in New York, and substantially
the way Judges are appointed to this
.ly in Massachusetts. In 1916 New
York changed her judicial system, and
among other things made all judicial of
frrrs direct creatures Of political parties
and dragged the spotless ermine of her
former Courts in the mire of a popular
r,rctiou The effect of the change can
readily be observed by comparing the
reputation and standing of Judges in
New York since 1916 with what they
were before or with what they are now
IN Massachusetts, and the Federal Courts.
The Judges of State ought not to re-
feet every heated and passionate wave
that may dash over the political field.
rhcy stand as a bulwark of safety to the
people, to administer justice freely be-
tween litigants, according to the estab-
Hshcd fundamental principles of gov
eminent and the fixed and immutable
rules Of right, and all experience has
shown that when the necessity is put
opon candidates for judicial place, of
soliciting popular favor, or counting the
popular prejudices of parties, that weak
and bad men obtain an advantage over
those Of pure thoughts and self-respect.
No responsible Governor of New York,
would have made permanent appoint
mcnt of George G. Barnard or Albert
Cardozo TO the bench of the Supreme
court. and we do not believe that those
mrn would have been corrupt from
choice, had it not been necessary to. con-
ciliate the wicked political magnates of
the metropolis to keep themselves in
their places on the bench. When the
appointing power is held by political
caucus and a popular vote, we must
find unprincipled and unfit men schem-
ing for the places, the same as in other
political appointments, and at times
when party feeling runs high they will
succeed. availability taking the prefer
ence over fitness on such occasions.
The late judicial election in Illinois
for Judge of her supreme court is in
point. No man in that State, or any
other that we ever heard of, ever claimed
or can claim with truth that Judge
Craig is the peer in integrity, learning
or ability of Judge Lawrence, yet pop
ular frenzy, perfectly unreasonable, dis
placed Lawrence and elevated Craig to
the bench. And since then we see in
the same State, well-to-do farmers,
wholly destitute of legal knowledge,
made the candidates of powerful parties
for judgeships over courts where an in
innate knowledge OF law and the details
Of complicated practice, are absolutely
necessary in order to do the business of
the court, and what makes this more
dangerous, these elections occur at times
when the public feeling are agitated and
Convulsed by political excitements, and
the judgment warped by contest for
mastery over questions that nowhere en-
ter into the qualifications of a judge.
The most humiliating thing we ever saw
in our own State, was when a political
party nominated a candidate for a judi
cial office, and then in a few weeks af
forwards called a new convention and
vacated the nomination upon the sole
ground that the candidate did not fully
endorse the nomination of another can
ddatc, for a political Office, by the same
party.
Any observer of men and things can
see in the State of Vermont that our
system of electing judges works badly,
and that the judiciary do not feel as
Independent as they ought. How can
men exercise a self-respect and indie
Dendoncc, when they know at the end
OF every two years they must descend
into the dirty pool Of caucus, and the
intrigues Of an election, and be put
upon the witness stand and be cross
examined by a political committee as
to whether they favor such and such
man for President, Governor or
member of Congress Our highest law
court of general jurisdiction for the
trial of questions of fact, is composed
Of one chief judge elected by the legis-
ature, and two assistant judges elected
by the people in the several counties,
every two years. Now, who can say
that upon questions which create great
public excitement, that this feeling of
responsibility to a popular sentiment
does not tip the scales of justice from
its dead level? When men of discern
ment see a County Court find questions
Of fact upon which there is no evidence,
nor an intimate that there might be evil
dence, for the purpose of deciding a
case in accordance with a manifest
public desire, without ruling a question
of law against the vanquished party,
80 he could get reversal if the court
was wrong, they cannot help thinking
that it is not for the interest of the
State that judges should feel dependent
upon an excited public sentiment. All
experience shows that party politics