, 1877-01-21
REFEREE COURTS.

| III LIE Tribune OF yesterday WAS pub
lished complaint against the crowded con
d1tion Of the cornmon-law docaets of tht
| Circuit and Superior Courts of this count ;,
It Was stated that there ara at this time 3,O0(
cases on thd docket OF the Circuit Court, and
| 5000 on the docket Of tile Superior Court
These do not include the cases on the chan
Gerry sides Of these Courts. The same writer
| suggests various means BY which this condi
| ton Of things may be mended, among
| other things, that one of the two Circuit
Judges now hearing chaneery cases give his
| time to common-law cases; that attorneys be
| limited in time when Masking speeches; the
establishment Of City Court; and the more
general trial Of ceses by Referees. There
may be some wisdom in this suggestion as to
the trial Of cases by agreement before Refer
ees. The law Of the State ixes the pay of
Referee at S. per day, but permits the allow
ance to be increased to such sum as the liti-
CUNTS may agree upon. /: is complained
TINT this fee-say $40 or SIS per day
for the Referee-must be paid by the
parties, adding greatly to the cost of the
proceedings, and that it is for this reason
that the references are so unusual It
is assumed that if the county would provide
for the payment Of n reasonable per diem
there might be as many Of these Referee
courts in operation as I!ignnts might re-
quire. The cases which cumber the dockets
ere eof several kinds: l, where one or the other
party seeks delay, and trial is the last
thing desired ; o,-and perhaps they aie less
in number,-where both parties are willing
to hive their cases tried with the least delay.
The one class stands in the way OF the other,
and much Of the time of the Courts is con-
sumed in hearing motions of all kinds, the |
purpose Of which is to postpone or avoid !
trials. If the county would provide for |
paying the Referee, the Bar would have no
difficulty in finding competent men s1itable
to try these cases. Mnny suitors would pre-
fer to have their cases tried BY such Court.
When dispensing with Il jury, al1 the
facts and circumstances, including the
equities Of parties, could be tried
~ an intelligent Court. In New York
md in other States these Reference
Courts are largely sought by merchants,
md dealers, and corporations, and others
Who desire prompt determination of con-
and who have no taste for 1itiea-
ion for 1ihgation's sake. The County Com
nissloners for long period appropriated
money sufficient to pay Judges from other
ircuits fair per diem for holding courts in
his county. This practice has been discon-
inued because Of an intimation from the
upreme Court that such Judges could not
cceive such compensation. It does not fol-
ow, however, that the county authorities
nay. not pay the per diem of the Referees.
nd thus provide the mems by which all
ersons having cases in the Courts, and |
'i11ing to have thep, tried and determined
, Court without q jury, can have their
usiness disposed of promptly. There might
e one or half dozen of these Referee
ourts in operation at time, and the gen. I
al contempt Of jury trials in civil cases
i'd the growing preference for the trial of ,
lch cases by competent Judge leave no o
3ubt that such Courts will be Gbern1lv 4
'ught If necessary, the Legislature might i
1thorize the county authorities to pay the
er diem Of these Referees. ,