Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-10-09
Judicial Constitutional Amend
ment.
We are requested to publish the follow
in o. from an aNcha N oa nanar.

ia the present PAClEeu ulScuSSlOn Oh the
political issues of this campaign the peO-
pie may overlook an important question
TO be submitted to them this fall-the
ratification of what is known as the jul
dicial amendment. This measure was
almost unanimously agreed upon by the
last Legislature of Ohio. without respect
TO party. 1t has not been made 4 party
measure, and in my opinion it would be
a great misfortune to the administration
of Justice in Ohio if it is suffered to go
by default, for all the votes at the election
not cast for it are counted against it.
Any one familitr with the course of jus
tlce in the past twenty-five years can not
doubt the wisdom of the proposed amend
ment. What it proposes to remedy is a
giaaing defect in the Constitution of Ohio,
which has been condemned ever since its
adoption. The people, and particularly
liTigantS and the legal profession, have
been trying for the past twenty years to
devise some remedy. The proposed
amendment, in my opinion, furnishes
that remedy. 1t is simply this:
First. To divide the State into nine iu-
dicsaI districts, in each of which one
judge shall be elected, which shall be a
Court of Appeals and errors, and such
original jurisdiction rs may be conferred
by law.
Second. Each district is to be subdi-
VIded into sub-districts, in each of which
one Common Pleas Judge shall be elected.
This plan gives us what has been loudly
called for by the people of the State-an
independent intermediate court, the
judge of which has never heard of cases
to he submitted to him, who has no pride
OF opinion to maintain and is not influ-
enced by any previous conceptions of the
case, preiudices or preferences. As it
often is now, and as was almost always
the case before the Common Pleas Judges
We're increased Gd HbitaB1, the Judge who
prestdes in the District Court has once
heard and decided the case in the Com
mon Pleas Court, aud it certainly requires
great stretch of confidence in human
natnre to suppose he is clothed with
greater abilities by the simple act of
taking off his Common Pleas and putting
on his District Court robes. We would
not letract from the position our Com
moH Pleas Judges throughout the State
deservedly hold; but they are like other
med, and, like other men, are mortal.
This change in the organization of the
District Court alone certainly entities
thisamendment to the cordial support of
all the voters of Ohio. No objection is
urged to this change except the matter of
expense, but a careful examination of
the bresent system demonstrates that the
protosed change will be a great saving of
exuAnse to the people, We have now,
"IGE I1fO lIEGs au0LGlOlldI QIl2OS OFuGEGtt
by ahe last Legislature, eighty-two Com
moi Pleas Judges-thirteen Of whom are
in Cincinnati and observation-disclosures a
Jud4 4ge to a county on an average. If the
Con&mon Pleas Judges are. relieved of
Disegict Court work, at least, twO-thirds
the br resent number could do all the work
of tie Common Pleas at a saving to the
StaB of about $40, 900, to which, if you
add Ihe nine District Judges, under the
Rh1nRn al
tiOn5Of the Common Pleas, there would
be actual saying to the State of $45, ,00O
to 30 600 annually. That | am not
wrdhg in my estimate, an examination
of TIE distribution of the Judges and their
wOrE will show. Take the third subdi-
Visikn of the Eighth Judicial District
COM DOsed of the counties of Jefferson.
Har8isOn and TuscaraWas, which has
abo t an average population. 1t has but
one udge, while in the first subdivision
of TIE Second Judicial District, composed
of tR Counties of Ratler. Preble, Mont
gOmery and Darke, there are four Judges
Leaving out Montgomery county, neither
of the other counties have much more
than One-third of the population of the
third subdivision of the Eighth District
above referred to, and not more than one
third the business. So in the Third Dis
trict, composed of nine counties of less
| than an average population of the State
| there are six Judges. Relieve them O.
District Court work, and four could dc
! all The work. Outside of the five large
| cities there are siXty-three Judges. Un
der the new plan one Judge could easily
do all the business of three average coun
ties; or if yOu give them two counties
there would be u saving of over twenty
Judges. The expense, therefore, would
be less under the new than the old sys
TEN; but if it were the same the greatly
superior advantages would be gained
I4itigants would feel that perfectly un
biased mind had decided their case in thu
District Court, and a large majorit,
would stop there and not press into tn
Supreme Court.
In view of these facts, it does seem a
though every one who reads this shOul
make it his special duty OH election da!
to see that every voter should vote, "Ju
dicial Constitutional amendment, Yes.
/ We have called attention to but one Q
the amendments, because we think it tn
most important. 1t is Il proposed chang
in the organic law of the State, and til
people should study it well and vote IN
derstandingly on it as well as the Othe
proposed amendment.