Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1878-12-18
C0uRT CONDUCT.

We have seen III Stdteu li'as !" ''S
one of the Western towns the Court
was usually opened somewhat AFTER
this fashion: The Judge entered the
court room, went upon the bench, took
his pipe from the desk, and after leisure
~ filling and lighting it, cooked his feet
upon the table and announced that
This court is now open for business.
We want quiet. The first id man
that makes noise will be put QUIT
We were reminded OF this incident
i'm reading the letter OF our correspond
ent ~. w." published this morning,
showing the gradual abandonment oil
the old time ceremonies, which gavedig-
nitv aud solemnity to the proceedings
oi court Of justice. While the West
crn court, spoken OF above, may be a
little in advance, the manifest tendency
ni court manners, it strikes us, is to-
ward that off hand and informal, not to
saw, undignitied mode OF procedure
which the incident illustrates.
We may not find in our courts gener-
ally, So great degree of forgetfulness
and lack OF respect ior his position, on
the part OF the presiding judge, rs to
catch him INDUCING Il smoke, or elevat-
ING his feet above his head, but there
are very marked strides i'll that direc-
ton among the members OF the bar. 1t
would, we venture, be an unusually
dccurOus and respectful occasion that
would discourage the aspiring feet of the
average attorney from getting up on the
trial table. 1t would be difficult to de-
tcrmine, from the spectacle Of inter
mingled heads and feet usually visible
over the table, whether it were the
former or the latter that were being
used in the trial of the case. The lat
ter are generally most conspicuous and
most formidable in appearance.
But il the presiding Judge does not
command, and does not care to compel
that respect ior himself, and il not for
himself, for his position, which would
induce the attendants upon his court
to demean themselves respectfully in
these minor matters, who is To stay the
decentralization before il reaches and
dcspoils the dignity Of the court itself |?
70 very large degree this has been AZ
complislred. The loose, lazy, indifferent
aspect OF the court room, and court con-
duct, has gone far towards destroying
that feeling OF reverence for its author
itv. and fear for its penalties, that once
prevailed among the masses.
There are fortunately exceptions to
this State Of things. There are courts
in which an attorney or spectator can
not violate the most trivial rule of po-
likeness or propriety without having
the baiir at his side to remind him Of
il. Ii was but II few days ago that a
judge in a Washington court ordered
the baliif to assist female lawyer to di-
vest herself of a cloak in which she
stood addressing the court-that,
according To the view OF the
court, being a breach Of pro
priety in male or female This
would perhaps he regarded by some rs
AN extreme degree Of iastidiousness on
the part oi the Judge. ietwe will ven
ture that the respect for that tribunal
and for all others where the laws pro-
priety and decorum are held in esteem,
is much more salutary than in those in
which the conduct is uncouth and lack
ing in dignity.
We do not, Us our correspondent ".
V" has said, claim any virtue for I'M
necessary form and ceremony-for the
old stvle ermine aud wig-or for yer
biage and senseless formulas i'm the pro-
ceedings oi court of justice; and yet u
certain degree OF ceremony OF method,
and even rigidity, is appropriate to,
and an essential part of the solemn
proceedings OF such tribunal. The
old formula for arrsiigning prisoner
might he little too stiltcd and verbose,
hut il was decidedly more in place than
the present practice OF unceremoGiously
seating him between two attorneys
with their feet cooked on the trial table,
while they MUNICH chestnuts, divide
plug OF tobacco, or crack jokes with
their client A constant dropping will
wear stone, and this constant infringe
mcnt upon the proprieties Of the Court
room is undermining little by little its
standing, influence, and efficiency as
the highest and most dignifiei tribunal
I'M our system of government.