The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-09-18

honorably, honestly and most efficiently
and every ono had right to believe that he,
above all other gentlemen OF tho state, could
best propose u judiciary system that would
suit all views, that would be adequate to the
wants Of the state, and perhaps had he re-
manned on tho bench, he could have done SO,
but being governor, his idea to put the ju-
dietary practically under the control Of the
executive department OF the state did
not meet with favor at the
hands of the sixteenth legislature.
There is no doubt but that our judiciary
system ought TO be remodeed, overhauled
and materially changed. Commencing at
the bottom, we don't know that there could
be any special improvement made as to JUS
tices of the peace and the jurisdiction with
which they are clothed. 1t is good idea to
give the lower courts all the power and au-
thorty compatible with the strict administra-
tion of justice, and we are not prepared to
say that the law in force MS to justices of the
peace could well DO improved upon. The
county court system it is urged, however, is a
very defective feature of the system. The
reasons that are stated for this belief
are very many, but we will be
content to give few OF them. In tho first
place tho remuneration for county Judges is
80 scanty that in the most of tho counties no
lawyer capacitated TO fill the position can
we'll afford to take it. A county Judge has
no time to devote to tho practice of the law,
he is bound down by his duties to the ono
thing of being county Judge, and if there is
not living in the office, how can man af-
ford to fill il? The jurisdiction of the county
court is 80 extended that no gentleman not
qualified to be district judge is qualified to
be county judge. Fully two-thirds Of the
civil and criminal business of every county
comes within the jurisdiction of the county
court, and rs complicated points of law arise
for adjudication in cases 10 this court as come
up in the district court. What is
tho consequence them Gentlemen prac-
ticing their professions of tho law, except in
few Of the most populous counties of the
state where commissioners courts can afford
to pay living salaries, cannot take the po-
sitions and they frequently fall into the
hands of incompetents. This necessitates
appeals from decisions and rulings made
outside of the pale of legal construction and
legal requirements, which entail the loss of
time and useless expenses Why not then,
do away with system, or feature of sys.
tenn, more properly speaking, SO manifestly
weak and incompetent? But the great draw
back to the judiciary system of the state is
the code of criminal procedure, in SO far as
the criminal LAWS concerned, and the cir
cunlocution in the practice of the
civil law. Simplfcation of
the practice is what is necessary. Lawyers
may scout the idea, but it is to their interest
to do 50. Lawyers make their bread, build
their fine houses, dress themselves in purple
and fine linen of the technicalities and cir.
cumIocutions Of this law. Lawyers, in the
MAN, have made the laws of the state, and
while we do not propose to say that they
have made them with an eye single to profit
ing by them because of their ambiguity
because of the delays in the administration
of justice administered under them, yet they
are made just that way Search this country
from its one limit to the other, and there
will not be found q state, saving and except.
ing Texas, that has three courts Of
final resort. The court of appeals of
this state, with three able, learned,
active gentlemen on its bench, has
more work than it can we'll accomplish in the
time allotted it. The judges of this court
labor diligently every day for about forty
two weeks out of the fifty two in a year. The
sameis true of the supreme court, and yet
they cannot keep up with the cases submit.
ted for their adjudication. There must be
reason for this and the reasons most appa.
rent are the scnseless teohnicalities that OBJ.
tain only for the benefit of the lawyers and
defendants and the small salaries paid Judges
of the lower courts. Five hundred dollars a
year will secure the services of only very
inferior county Judge. Twenty-Five hundred
dollars year will command the services of
only an ordinary lawyer as district Judge, OK.
cept in some districts whore scant population
precludes the possibility of large practice
Who supposes that in district largely pop.
ulated, where there is an abundance of litigs.
ton that a lawyer with irst.class abilities, at.
tainments and reputation will 90 on the
bench for $4,000 when he can make $4,000
by the pra ctice of his profession? Inferior
lawyers, in the main, filling the positions Of
Judges, the able lawyers who practice before
them, knowing when they err in
their rulings, note their exceptions
and appeal their cases to get just
and correct decisions upon tho law of
their cases in the higher courts and 10 vindi.
cate themselves in their practice. This Is
why court of appeals became a necessity
and after it court Of commissioners, 10 as.
sist both courts Of final resort. We don't wish
to DO at all understood as rejecting upon
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