Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-08-24
Defects Of our Criminal Laws.
Dubuque Telegraph,

every ClIlZcn Oh lIllS OIdUo llldU ullCre are
serious defects in our criminal laws, both
in prescription of what is crime and how
criminals should be arraigned, tried and
punished, when found guilty. We were
forcibly struck years ago by remark
made by Judge Burt when he was on
the Bench of the District Court in this
county. A criminal case was on trial
and from the arguments OF counsel for
the accused, one would infer, and so the
Judge remarked, that it was the Judge
and Sheriff who were the criminals at
the bar or ought to be, and not the pro-
secuted criminal. 1t is all very well for
the law and the public to presume that
an accused criminal is innocent till his
guilt is proven, but it is just as fair to
presume that when such thing occurs
there is good reasons for bringing a per-
son before Court for trial on an accu
sation of having committed criminal
offense, and that there is some reason
for believing the accused to be guilty.
All the presumption ought not to be on
the side of the accused, and especially
not so much so as to burden the public
more with the expense OF defending than
of prosecuting him, as is the case under
our criminal law
We regard it as grievous burden on
the public that it has to bear most of
the expense both Of prosecuting and de-
Tending persons accused OF committing
crime, whether the accused be guilty or
innocent. The Code provides that be-
sides the salary of District Attorney he
shall be allowed a compensation for pro-
scouting each criminal case. That com
pensation is very properly fixed by law,
as follows:
For each conviction on plea Of gull
ty, five dollars
For each jury trial in case Of misde
meanor, ten dollars.
For each jury trial in cases of felony,
twenty dollars.
This compensation, let the reader bear
in mind, is for prosecuting an alleged
criminal, and the compensation is paid
by the public of county. 1t might be
very proper for the public to bear this
expense, but if so, is it equally proper
or not that the public should also bear
the expense of defending persons accu-
sed of committing crime, especially If
such accused should be found guilty?
The Code of the State provides that
not only shall the public pay for defend
ing, as well as prosecuting, criminals,
but, in practice, pay more for defending
than for prosecuting. In place OF liking
the compensation of attorneys for de-
Tending criminals as the Code does for
prosecuting, it is left to the discretion
of the Judges to fix such compensation,
except in cases OF misdemeanors, when
the law fixes the compensation for de-
Tending as it does in another place for
prosecuting Probably the design of the
law, in leaving it to the discretion OF
Judges what compensation to allow for
defending criminals, was, that this dis
erection might be so used as not to allow
as much for defending as for prosecut
ing, so that the public should not be
obliged to pay more for helping to keep
criminal out of Jail than it is made to
pay for helping to put him in; but the
discretion given to the Judges is gener
ally used the other way, and perhaps
without blame to the Judges, who nat
urally sympathizc with their profession
al brethren.
The law in this matter ought to be so
changed at least that the public, the
people of county, shall not be obliged
to pay more for keeping rascal out of
jail than for putting him in. The dis
erection left or given to Judges in the
matter should be taken away, both for
their own relief and for the public
good.
Another defect in the administrative
part of our criminal law is that under
judgment of fine and costs, parties are
allowed to pay the fine, without paying
the costs, and these costs, in most cases
more than the fine, fall upon the people
upon the people of the county rather
than on the criminal. In this way coun-
ties are obliged to pay thousands of dol
lars every year, when such costs should
be made part of the penalty as well as
of the judgment, and the convicted
criminal, and not the people should be
made to pay them These are but few
of the many defect of our criminal law.
We hope to go through the whole crimi-
nal code and note these defects and sug-
gest remedies for them.