The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-12-30
Our Judiciary.
From the uuion and Amerlean


! When the Tip-roaring DaVy Crock
/ EFT first found himself in the Ten
nessee Legislative, there were tWoli
words continually banded back and
/ forth. ito which he could attach no p
definite or appreciable, meaning.
One was the Government, /" and 9
the other the Judiciary" the need
for ren1odeling which seems to have
been the main topic of public inter-
est.g He attacked dictionaries and :.
other books in vain. The more he
read and listened. The more he was
perplexed as to exactly what his j.
colleagaesw were talking about. Sonnet
times, just when he Thought he was
on1the clue, member would use the
word in a connection that again up
set his notions. We cite the inci-a
dent to show the long period during
which the need for reform i'm the
Judiciary has been recognized and
discnssedsin this State. sysi...,.a .......-
A correspondent of the Athe0S
Post, signing his article "Fiexican,' 20
suggests q somewhat novel and ex-
tensive mode of reform as followstY{
The iabolishment of the Supreme
Chaneery and Circuit Courts, or their
consolidation. We propose a diyis-
ion of the State into eight judicial
districts. an assignment of thbeel
judges, the same to constitute, a.
bench, for the. business of each jndi-
cial, district, who shall determine all
cases in law and equity brought be-
fore them upon their merits-dis4-
pensing with juries and parol testi9
nony except when ia their discretion
justice should otherwise demand,
ualesS in-cri1niAal cases the defendoalt
shall ask for trial By jury. Any per-
son whose cause is just would GER
tainly have less to apprehend from
fallibility Of human judgment when,
a bench constituted of three learned.
jurists, familiar with law and accus-'
toned to weigh evidence, determines
the legal merits, the facts and eqHity.
of the cause, than when submitted
to d jury of ignorant men, however
honest their inclinations. ....
| Under this plan we might have
eight different laws. or eight differ
ent constructions of the law, in force
over the State. It may seem fare
fetched aud unreasonable to suggest.
| the possible return, at some future
day, of such q regime as Brownlow's.
and to ask how this system would
then work. Yet, we all remember
times when it would have seemed
much more unreasonable to antici-.
pate Brownlowism. Peace is the
time to prepare for war. The Jury
system which the Radicals found in
full force and dared not overthrow
was the sole thread on which any
hope for justice hung, during many
recent years in our history. In all
ages, freemen have found it wise to
set mp barriers against tyrants.
Amid all our scientific and material
progress, human nature does, not
change There will be despots in
the future as surely as in the past.
But we must let "Flexican'' expand
his mode of reform: "t
To secure the best legal ability of
elected. by the bar. Two potent mo,
tiyes wonld combine to Influence
the electors to select a competent
Bench. First, it would clearly be to
the interest OF the practicing lawyers
to get out Of their way the ablest
| attorneys and counselors. Secondly,
it would certainly be with the pro-
fession a matter Of professional
! pride, and this sentiment alone would
/ protect the people from ignolant and
incompetent judges. We would
have the judges, if not appointed by
the bar, at least nominated by the
licensed lawyers of the State. Six
for each district might be named,
and of each district the Legislature
confirm three. r7-, t4e- tr..#-.7.
l,nThe same objections suggest them
selves as above. In Missouri we
seen all lawyers deprived Of their
tlicences unless they subscribed to a
certaff test oath. During the greater
| part of modern English history such
tests, sometimes religious. have been
required Legislatures might per-
haps be trustsd, if Tennessee had
La, guarantee on Providence that she
lshould never be afflicted by such
| as wrought rtiih IN Che South, or
| ireekedn in corruption like some ofthe
North, as Pennsylvania and New
EYerk. for instance Incongruous as
it may seem, to submit to popular
suffrage the selection of a profess
Esiohal expert--as every Judge should
| be in his profession--yet recent
experience with BrownlOw's appoint
ees, will make cur people slow. to
countenance any plan involving their
Town disfranchisement in this matter.
| "Flexican'" suggests other mod
ifcations, among them, that each
| judge shall hold his office during life
or good behavior, subject, however,
to deposition for just cause by his
two colleagues. with appeal to the
! Legislature. lie also suggests that
| In case ola vacancy. from any cause,
the remaining judges may Gil it, and
that IL might be found polite to
select each bench from some other
district than that in which they arc
to serye. nfif7ng
1 H stiirk