Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1878-11-29
Constitutional Amendments.
NO. IL.


sections of the proposed con-
stitutional amendment relates
to the organization and jurisdic-
ton of the Supreme Court.
Under the present constitu-
ton, we have the anomaly of
two. supreme courts, exercising
coordinate jurisdiction, of equal
authority and totally indepen-
dent of each other. It is true
that they have different names,
and that jurisdiction over GRIM
inal matters is given to one
court and denied to the other.
But of the civil cases, the larger
number will be decided by the
court of Appeals, whose juris-
diction embraces all civil cases,
originating in justices courts and
in the countyscourts. Thus two
courts of last resort, wholly in
dependent of each other and of
equal dignity, are deciding ques-
tons of evidence and the nu-
merous questions affecting con-
tracts and wrongs. A conflict
in the decisions of the two
courts is inevitable. That con-
fiict is not SO apparent to the
public, because the decisions of
the appellate court in civil ca
ses are not published in the re-
ports. But we will find, that
upon facts precisely similar, the
supreme court will pronounce
one judgment and the court of
appeals will give another and
different judgment. The civil
law in Texas will soon case to
be a rule of action; no man will
know what his rights are; no
man will know the meaning of
the terms in his contract, be-
cause the rule by which he is
to be governed, will depend
upon the tribunals in which the
litigation is conducted.
This evil never existed in
Texas before the adoption of
the present constitution, and is
to be found in no other state in
the uniol. By the amendment
we are to return to our old sys-
tenn of our supreme court. COM
posed of seven members. But
to avoid another evil resulting
from delay in the dispatch of
business; the court is organized
to sit in sections, each compos-
ed of three members and one
hearing civil cases and the 9TH
er deciding criminal cases.
When a constitutional question
is involved and in all capital
felonies, the case must be heard
and decided by the whole court,
and any member of the court
when sitting in sections, may
refer any question in the case,
or the whole case to all the
members of the court for decis-
ion.
In four ffths of the cases ap-
pealed to the supreme court, no
questions of difficulty will arise,
and such cases can be as safely
decided by three judges, as by
the whole court. When there
is a difference of opinion among
the members OF the court, the
question or case can be referred
to the whole court, thus secur-
ing the concurrence Of a major
ity of the seven judges and es-
tablishing a rule of law. In a
court SO organized, there can be
no conflict in its rulings, for the
moment that a differance of
opinion is apparent, the ques-
ton viii be remitted to the
whole court for its decision.
Our system of courts was
originally derived from England,
which also gave us the common
law England during the last
half century has made great
progress in the science of the
law. Her experience has led
her to adopt a supreme court
precisely similar in organization
to the one proposed by the
constitutional amendments.
IN the case of one Miller,
charged embezzlement before
the U. S. court at Indianapolis,