The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-07-03
TIIEJUDICIARy AGAIN CIVIL AND
gHIMINALG COURT,

sixty organized counties In tho
State, and averaging tho judicial
districts at eight counties, would
give tho number of tho districts Of
Of tho State at twonty. This aver
ago could BIO very safely made with
two terms Of tho court per Annum,
and n sufficient number Of criminal
courts In tho most populous dis
trcts, Some of tho districts might
worry properly comprise not moro
than four counties, but n
much larger number might very
we'll have moro than eight,
This would give twenty civil judges,
most Of them with criminal uris-
dction, and with salaries at three
thousand year, would amount TO
sixty thousand dollars per annum.
Suppose you add to this five Grim
inal districts at tho Same salaries.
This would add fifteen thousand
dollars per annum, making tho
whole annual expense sevonty.6vo
thousand dollars, n saving Of sixty
five thousand dollars n year in
the item Of salaries alone, and
At tho Same time wo think would
give TO tho judges sufficient remu.
neration for their services. Judges
should not DO paid such high sal.
aries az that tho position would DO
sought for the salary aonc-nor yet
such mcagro pay rs would preclude
the best, most active and energetic
from accepting the place, The dan.
ger We think, in the coming Con.
vcntion, is u rush in tho excited
temper Of the politicians for econ
omy, to tho opposite extreme, TO,
shifting in such cutting down of
salaries that men Of ability and re.
spectability will hesitate to leave
lucrative business for such adequate
compensation. Two hundred and
fifty dollars month is not too
much to offer n first.clas man when
you ask him to take the place of
District Judge, however honorable,
for limited period, and to abandon
for the term business OF his profes.
sion, in most cases much more lu.
crative. Tho idea was suggested
some months ago through some of
the newspapers, that there ought
to be an entire change in the sys.
tenn of courts-in this-that in
every district in tho State, as well
rs in the supreme court, there
should be separate civil and Grim
inal courts. Ono evil in having tho
courts limited, is, that liti.
gants and witnesses on tho civil
side frequently have to wait
days and weeks for tho court to
get through with the State docket
and the same results happen with
those having business on the State
docket; all of which could be avoided
by separating the courts in all the
districts. The result would be about
the same TO jurors, for if tho courts
were divided the length of the terms
would, of course, be worry much d.
minished. We think under such II
system fifteen judicial districts
would DO enough in the State, This
however, would require thirty
judges, and putting their pay at
three thousand dollars a year would
foot up tho expense to ninety thou.
sand, a saving of fifty thousand
over thcprcsent system. With such
division of tho judiciary, the civil
courts should hold their terms
twice q year, and the criminal
courts three times. The criminal
business Of the State, generally,
would not require as much time az
the civil. The length of the Grim.
inal terms for each county might be
made shorter, and the result would
be a more speedy trial of persons &C
cused Of crime. Prisoners in Jail,
awaiting trial, ought to have as
speedy a hearing as possible.
With this system appeals should
be made directly to tho Civil Su-
preme Court, as suggested by is
some days ago, and from the Grim
inal Courts directly to the Criminal
Supreme Courts. There would be-
no complication in such a system,
and II could be operated with much
less expense than the nresent svs.