The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-02-24

must confess, that according to present
methods and with travelling court, we
have no more assurance of receiving speedy
justice or reliable precedents with docket
only few causes, than with
one crowded with business. Let facts
speak. BY an amended law, nine days are
assigned to the court In Rutlsnd county in
stead of six as heretofore, while In Ben
nington county the number of days for
business Is now, as heretofore, six. The
court, however, In this county only occu-
pied seven days, hearing some thirty-eight
cases and of these, leaving undecided eight.
In Bennington county, there was time
enough, and more to spare. Eight cases
acere heard and only one decided. That en-
try "with the court which makes unde-
cided cases, indicates not OILY denial of
speedy justice, but too often a Sinking, on
the part of the judges, of the duty of max
ing presidents. PROFESSIONALLY the par
ticular matter in dispute will, some day, be
decided, but,the decision will be noted in
simple docket entry, and the far or future
courts, will be none the wiser relative to
what is or may be the law as applicable to
such cases. Surely the two days in Rut-
land county, and the greater number in
Bennington county, were all sufficient to
allow the court to consult, decide the law,
and prepare opinions. But they preferred,
and perhaps it would hardly be just to
blame them for it, the quiet of their homes
to the labor of studying law and the dis
comforts of hotel lite. If time was needed
for the proper consideration of the legal
points involved, il valuable presidents
could only be established in this way, If
speedy Justice was not substantially de-
MED. then there would be no reason to
complain, and judges might HE themselves
home when they pleased. But the simple
entry of affirmed" or reversed" does not
make or declare law, neither is its entry
six months or six years after hearing
speedy justice.
All these faults, all failures, we take 1t,
can be ascribed to overcrowded dockets,
too much labor thrown on the judge, per.
haps, too little done, and too small salaries.
For if there is a small docket in one coun-
", it is more than made up in another, and
this holding of terms of supreme court in
nearly every county of the state and at the
general term is only small part OF @
Judges duties. When to this is added some
three months of holding nisi prius courts
besides business at chambers and IN chan.
Gerry, it must be confessed that our Judges
would be overworked If they devoted
all the necessary time to their duties. They
know what their duties are, they know
what the salary is, and they need not &C
c>pt the office unless they please, but th
affords no excuse for imposing too mucl
labor and an inadequate salary on judge
If they do all, and the best, they can, per
haps we ought to be satisfied for it is bet
ter for the state and the general public Il
have able judges and portion of the case
decided according to law, than it would b.
to have all the cases disposed of by inferio
judges and good law set at naught. Blu
speedy justice and reliable precedents ar
not obtained in either of these ways. Tina
we do not overestimate the value of prece
dents is demonstrated by the opinion o
tho court in the case of John p. Phair
where, after ''giving it all the considera
ton which their time would admit" the,
say, in reference to one material question
" If the question was a new one, the abb
and ingenious arguments of counse
"wOuld be entitled to great weight Il
" settling aohat the rule should be. But it
" sufficient for us to declare the law as W
" find it, though are may not kno'c rchy
" soas established" We refer to this, nc
for the purpose of finding fault with til
way the particular question was decided
for we think it was right, but to ilustrat
how important precedents are, and hoy
much care should be taken in maxim
them, so long as courts blindly folio,
them, even while thinking different rul
might be better and without knowing tn
reasons why the old rule was established
But we have said enough to show thu
there is practical denial of speed
justice, that there is not time enough
given or taken, for the proper decision {
cases, and that there is too often falul
of declaring the law under which the
make their decisions, when they do mal
any. Where and what is the remedy?