The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-12-09
COURT COSTS.
Burdens Unnecessarily
Imposed upon the
People.
Nashville American. j

Nashville Americana
The biggest item In the current ex
| Penses of the State is court costs.
Two hundred thousand dollars cut o.
$500, 900, made by the last Legisla
ture was set apart for the payment q
court costs, outside of the salaries Of
the judges and other expenditures,
These would swell the amount to about
$3.50, GOO, over one-haIf the total ami
set apart to run the machinery Of tbs
State. The Indications are, that the
that the entire sum will be swallowed
up by the end of the year, ifnot before
that time a cursory examination
of books and reports in the Comptrol-
lers Office yesterday exhibited some
curious facts
A bill of costs from the Circuit
Court of Trousdalo county shows that
the prosecution in the case of the State
vs.. Henry Mckinley, indicted for
murder in Smith county, in 1876,
and transferred to Trousdale county
for trial, cost Tennessee $1,815.81.
Mckinley was twice found guilty of
murder in the first degree and the
case subsequently noUe prosecuted
There were seventy-four witnesses in
the case who were in attendance on
the court from SO to II days each
and the State charged accordingly.
In 1879 Trousdalc paid State tax
on property of sSlS.24 and Smith
county $4,000 The total amount
paid to the State by both counties
was s3,51S,24, only 81 ,702,43 more
than the cost of the above mentioned
case.
The bill OF costs for the last term of
the Hamilton county circuit court was
50, 228,67 while the criminal costs, of
Shelby amounted to just little more
than that sum-s2, 241 ,29-whIle 1t
is a wellknown fact that moro crimi-
mails are prosecuted in Shelby than in
anyother i'll the State. The question
might be asked, and very well, too,
why it it is, there such little difference
between the costs of the two courts,
and it might be answered by saying
that there must be a more economical
operation of the criminal court of Shell
by than there is in-the Circuit Court
of Hamilton. The populations of the
two counties will not bear COMPARE
son. 1t is hardly possible that as
much crime is committed in Ham1-
ton county asin Shelby If the number
of people in each is taken into consid-
Grafton.
During the first six months Of
1880, in Shelby county the average
amount ofjail fees paid out, per month
was 81, 1000. The average amount
paid out in Jail fees for each month for
the past six months was 800, show
ing a reduction of over two-thirds I'M
der the administration Of Judge Horri-
gan. 1t can easily seen what a large
reduction las been made by Judge
Horrigan in Jail fees alone, and he
has made other reductions in keeping
with it.
Judge Quarles and attorney Gene
raj Washington, of Davidson county,
have also made creditabIe reductions
in court costs, and they intend to make
them less.
1t is in the power of all the Judges
and Attorney Generals in the State to
reduce court costs at least one-half of
what they are now. If each county
We're required to pay for the prosecu-
ton of Its criminals, as is the case in
most Of the States of the Union, the
matter would come closer home to
them, and the people would see to ii
that the judiciary was not extrava-
CANT. A large amount Of costs to the
State from Magistrates courts, which
employ deputies, instead of the regu-
larry elected constables, to serve war
rants, and frequently to get up cases
in which there is little or no proof, and
which are not sustained by testimony
before the grand juries. But after all
the Ma gistrate and his appointee claim
fees against the State and are allowed
them by a large numbers of courts.
Thus it is that costs accumulate for no
cause, and the people are assessed to
pay them.