The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-05-15
THE SUPREME COURT.
Three Years Behind in It's Business-A Re-
view of the Work Done.

Three Years Behind in It's Business-A Re-
view of the Work Done.
A review of the business transacted
by the Supreme Court of the United
States during the term just ended, says
Washington correspondent, shows that
the court considered since last October
1913 cases, in addition to twenty nine
passed and continued and six ordered
for reargument. One hundred and
seventy-six of the cases brought before
it were argued orally and III submitted
upon printed briefs. .'.' ~ '"
The number of cases finally disposed
of, including those brought over pend
ing decision from the previous term, is
379. In 201 Of these cases the decisions
of the lower courts we're affirmed, and
seventy-nine reversed, the remainder
having been docketed and dismissed or
settled by agreement between the con-
! tending parties. It thus appears that
two cases out of every five actually de-
cided have resulted in the reversal of
the judgments of the courts below.
The number of cases on the docket
has been steadily increasing every year
since 1910, until it has reached, includ-
ing the cases considered this term, /, $50.
The court is now more than three years
behind in it's business, but it is hoped
that the operations of the new law linn
iting appeals to cases involving $4,000
or more, instead of ST. 900, as heretofore,
will relieve the hard-worked Justices to
some extent, and enable them to keep
up with the constant accommodating ap-
peals. .E"+f} H.t I'" "8 q
An analysis of the docket for the
present term shows that, of the 1880
cases decided and pending, one-half
come from the five States of New York,
Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and Penn
sylvania, the District of Columbia and
Court of Claims. New York heads the
list with 146 cases, followed by Illinois
with So; the District of Columbia, so;
Louisiana, 7S; Missouri, IS; Pennsyl-
vania, IS, and the Court of Claims, So.
Every State and Territory in the Union
is represented by at least one case with
the exception of Delaware.
An examination into the personality
of the itigants shows that in twenty
one of the 379 cases disposed of this
term the United States was a party, and
that 1873 involved railroads, States, mu-
inequalities and other corporations,
leaving only los cases in which the con-
tending parties were private individuals.
Among the salient features of the bust
ness of the term is large number of
municipal-bond cases considered and
decided. Twenty-four cities, counties,
and towns seeking to avoid the pay
ment of obligations have brought their
cases by appeal to this court of last re-
sort. In twenty-three instances out of
twenty-four the court has held that the
bonds must be paid. Of these twenty
four cases, all but four came from ILL
nois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa,
and Louisiana.
A comparison of the work accom-
plished this term with that of the last
shows decrease of thirty-two in the
number of cases finally cleared from the
docket. The number of opinions de-
ivered, however, is about the same
The court is now seventy-two cases fur
Their behind in its work than it was at
the close of the October term of 1877.