The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1881-09-07

Courts of Appeal may fold away the
swaddling clothes of that pulling infant
and bring out its winding sheet. The
people of this State have tried the ex-
pertinent and have found it to be too
costly a luxury.
We can't stop to repeat orr entire ar
ticle on that subject, to which s'North
Louisiana" attempts to reply, and he
does not undertake to follow our state
ment that it costs, in salaries alone,
about $50 for every case they try-that
they do not furnish the relief sought
that the object desired could have been
accomplished much more economically
by adding to the number Of Supreme
Judgcs-or by establishing a temporary
Supreme Court to decide all the untried
cases on the Supreme Court docket
that the manner Of selecting the Jud-
ges of this Court of Appeals, by the
Legislature, was an unjustifable ipno-
walton upon Democratic usage, and was
itself an experiment upon an expert
ment-that the pretext that it is poor
mans Court is unfounded, as it is bet
ter for him to have a final judgment on
his case by jury in the District Court
than to have bob-tail appeal to non
descript Court of appellate jurisdiction,
where if either of the two Judges agree
with the lower Judge, the judgment
against him stands affirmed, ard final
ly that the poor man whose all is at
stake and whose $500 or 5000 is as much
to him as his thousands is to the rich
man, has a right to have his interests
adjudicated upon by the Supreme
Court, where the rich man carries his
appeals and where it is presumed a
higher wisdom will decide his law
questions. If the Convention of 1879
had been more practical and less theo-
retical, it would have lessened the
costs of appeal to the Supreme Court
and reduced the appealablc amount to
5000 instead of increasing it to $1,000
The experience of forty years from 1912
to 1852, had fixed the former as the ap-
propriate limit and we never used to
hear of any trouble in the Supreme
Court, and the experience of the entire
profession of law in and out of New
Orleans proves that litigation is dimin-
ishing both in the number of and in
the amount involved in law suits.
But hear "North Louisiana" again.
Having denied that any experiments
were tried and claiming an entire iden-
tity between the judiciary system Of
1916, 1862 and 1879 he says:
! The Constitutional Convention of 1873
not only incorporated the judiciary sys
tenn of 1852 in the present system, but
made such amendments to that system as
;were demanded by an enlightened public
policy, the wants and necessities of the
people.
1t is just those amendments" that
we object to so seriously. We have had
enough of one of them-tho Courts OF
Appeal. Let see some of his others
He says that under the new system
District Court terms in each Parish
have been increased to four and six
times year instead of two terms as un.
der that of 1862 and that
This amendment greatly reduced tax.
alton in the Parishes and afforded sub.
stantial relief to the people"
| Now let us see to the item of ex.
tpenses. Under the Constitution of 1857
there was
One Chief Justice with salary of $4,000
and four Associate Judges with
salary of $4,000 .-.....-..... 10000
Eighteen District Judges, salary
$500 each. Observation-Disclosures. 45.00(
Grand Total. .s71 ,o0(
Under the Constitution of 1879 there is
One Chief Justice and four Asso-
ciate Judges who each receive
salary of $4,000. .-...-.-.......$ 25, 00(
Twenty-six District Judges, salary
;, $4,000 each :.--.. .----.-....... $4,000
Ten Judges Courts of Appeal, sal
airy $4,000 each ................. 10000
Grand Total ........-....$143,0Ot
The Judiciary system of 1879 cost
only the small sum of $72 900 per yea
more than that of 1852 and yet +,
claims that y .euuced taxation. Thil
calculation is exclusive of New Orleans
it will be remembered. In abolishins
the Parish Courts because they were
too expensive and having given u.
Courts Of Appeal because they are eco
nomical ~ it looks very much as if WI
had jumped from the frying pan int
the fire. But he says:
"The present Constitution vests in tn,
+ Supreme Court power to try and remov,
from Office inferior Judges found guilty o
habitual drunkenness, nonfeasance, mis-
feasance, incompetency or corruption il
Office"
We don't so read Artirle 90 of til.
Constitution of 1879, which is as fol
lows, viz:
''ART. 90. The Judges of all Courts shall
: he liable to impeachment tor crimes ant
misdemeanors. For any reasonable caus
the Governor shall remove any of them o,
the address of two thirds of the member
elected to each House of the General As
sembly. In every case the cause or cause
for which Puch removal may be required
bol ho of Of lourfh in ho RI coe
and inserted in the journal ofeach House,
This is almost identical with Sectio,
: 8, Article 4, Of the Constitution of 1912
7 Article 70 of the Constitution of 1916
, Article 70 Of the Constitution of 1852
; and with Article 81 of the Constitution