The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-01-28
Greenwood Flag.
For The CLARION.
Shall the End District be Represented
on the Supreme Bench.

Section ,, of Article 6, of the Constitu
ton of the State, provides that ''the Su
preme Court shall consist of three Judges
who shall be appointed by the Governor
by and with the advice and consent of tht
Senate, auy two of whom, when convened
shall form a quorum. The Legislature
shall divide the State into three districts
and the Governor, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, shall appoint one
Judge from each district"
Section 402 of the Code of 1871 divides
the State into three districts as required by
the Constitution.
The counties of Claiborne, Copiah, Simp
son, Smith, Jasper, Clark, Wayne, Coving
ton, Jones, Perry, Greene, Marion, Han
cock, Jackson, Harrison, Adams, Jefferson
Amite Wilkinson, Lawrence, Pike, Lin
/ coin and Franklin, compose the second
district.
Section 403 provides chat a judge
for each of the districts created by
this act shall be appointed in the
manner prescribed in the Constitution,
whose term of office shall com
mence on the day of the date of his
commission, and continue for the term pre-
scribed by the Constitution"
Similar provisions existed in our old
Constitution and in the Code of 1857, only
the Judge of the High Court of Errors and
Appeals were required to be elected
Section 52G, relative to appointment of
Circuit Judge contains nearly the same Ian
guage as the section above quoted as to Su-
preme Court Judge, and is as follows ;
('Sectiou 52G-that a Judge shall be ap-
pointed by the Constitution for each of the
Judicial Circuit Court Districts in this
State"
1t is manifest that the intention of the
trainers or the Constitution, and the Statutes
quoted was that the Judges both
of the Supreme and Circuit Courts
should he appointed for the districts re-
spectively from such districts. 1t is true
that during the carpet-bag regime a diff
ferent practice in some instances prevailed
and occasionally Judges were imported
from other districts, and in truth sometimes
from other States, but now that our State
Government is in the hands of our own
people, and we have a Governor who is
conscientious, and who seeks to do Justice
to all sections of the State of which he is
lHe executive, we are C0nHQent that Il
rreHodent so "r-Democratic and unjust will
not be followed. Dne Of the Judges of the
prese Mt supreme Court (Judge CampDeiD
is from Madison, which is in the first dis
trict-and another, Judge Chalmers) is
from DeSoto, which is in the third District.
The retirement of Judge George will af-
ford an opportunity to give each District a
representative on the Supreme Bench by
the appointment of his successor from the
Second or Southern District
1t is true that Judge George was not from
the Second District, but that is the only
instance where our present Excellent Chief
Magistrate has disregarded uniform prac-
tee and Democratic rule by appointing
} Judge for District llons another District. |
The great ability of the present Chief JUS |
tice, and the reported acquiescence of |
number of the members of the Legislature
and members of the bar from tire Southern
District may have been some justification.
butthere was nevertheless a feeling of dis
satisfaction that the whole Southern
District was thus ignored.
Aware of the earnest desire Of the Gov
93rnor to designate an able and efficient
lawyer tor the vacancy, we think with
the twenty-theee counties, COMPRISING The
District, he can find quite 9 number who
VIII come up to that standard.
AMICUS CIrPPTA