The anti-monopolist., 1876-08-10
A Lawyers Letter. He Claims that the
Constitution has Been Violated in the
Case Of Certain Ramsey County
luHCoe

Mr.. Editor, Please publish the following, as
it is Of vital importance to many citizens OF the
state that acts Of the legislature regulating the
judiciary should be read, known and under
stood by all.
The increasing business of the Ramsey
county bar, or the slowness of the courts in
its transaction, had the effect in the win ter OF
1884 and ls75--6 Of having several bills in
troduced for legislative action, with view to
remedy, the evil and Inconvenience Of having
ing cases taken under ADJUSTMENT, and no de-
cislon reached in majority OF cases for sew
eral years What were these bills, and how the
remedy was applied will appear as we progress.
bill was introduced in the legislature Of 1878
--l to provide for the creating Of another Com
mon Pleas Judge, which bill passed and be-
came law, but under the prov sion OF sec. 8
article Of the state constitution 1t would be
imperative for at least months, as one could
not be elected until the next general election:
said Sec providing that all judges shall be
elected by the electors OF the judicial district
for which they shall be created; but this pro-
vision of the constitution was disregarded and
Judge was placed upon the bench as an act
OF courtesy, for the time being defaeto judge
but certainly not judge de jure. During
legislature another difficulty presented itself
to those who appeared to be regulating the
orbits OF judicial suns. large number Of cases
had accumulated upon the calender of the dis
trict court, as . common pleas Judge could not
| very well sit upon the district bench, to remedy
| this, the Ramsey county delegation (under
| instiucton.) proposed several bills the1provis-
| ions of which were perhaps the most extraor-
dinary of any bills ever introduced to al in
| telligent legislature. They were these "thas it
Be aud Is hereby enacted that the common
| pleas oourt heretofore existing in the coanty
| OF Ramsey shall be declared abolished" which
| act was passed and the common pleas court
| including the judges became . thing of the
past. Next what do we see. The same dele
CATION, headed by the same prominently lawyer,
| in order to make everything work together for
| the public gccd, and that there should b. no
| flaw in these remedial(, acts, proposed an
amendment to the constitution and the act
passed: the amendment, Was this that it be, and
| Is hereby enacted. BY the Ramsey county,
delegation led By the same prominent lawyer,
| that the organic law, Tor As some say the con-
s.itrtion Of the state Of Minnesota or as much
IS is contained in sec. 9 thereof, which says
tina, all judges shall Be elected, be and IS here
by suspended in order that the two common
pleas Judges recently legislAted out Of ofhee,
and whose term Of Office as common pleas judges
years, shal, be declared dissric.
court judges, and invested with full power, and
authority 10 try hear and determine cases for
were elected - common pleas judges II Il
| held BY all writers upon constitutional and
statutary laws, that no law can Be suspended
| for the benefit Of individuals, and il NOT this
common sense. The abolishing Of the common
| pleas court Of Ramsey county, swept NOT only
| the name Of the court bnt the judges also 3ut
| Of existence, and they were reduced to the fAnk
| Of common citizenship.
Section Of the Constitution of The stafe Of
Minnesota il to-day, like Aahaonsts cosau,
euspsnded bskwesn Heaven and earth: espkca.
ally tx The bens1t of two 0sn, edfi1ens q
R6nsaU sounky. thak thsy nag = Panfftsd