Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-03-23

AN IMPORTANT DECISION.
To be Made at the Ballot Box by the Voters Of this
Circuit-Facts for Consideration.

To be Made at the Ballot Box by the Voters Of this
Cireuit-Facts for Consideration.
Tuesday, the 4th of April. next. the
people of this and the four adjoining
counties must, by their suffrage. dis
pose of an office that more intimately
and profoundly affects their interests,
the safety and security of life and pros
perity, the peace and well being of So
ciety, than perhaps any other official
position within their gift. The people
must then decide into whose hands they
are willing to commit the power and
responsibilities pertaining to the office
of Circuit Judge within this district.
We have and shall to the best of our abil
ity support Hon. George Clementson for
the judicial bench and we would not say
a word against his opponent not sup
ported by facts, and facts that we take
no pleasure in dilating upon True no
| judge can fill that Office and discharge
its duties faithfully for any considerable
length of time without provoking some
opposition on the part of unfortunate
suitors and disappointed attorneys, but
it appears to us. that the elements which
portend the defeat of his honor, Judge
! Cothren, are too positive. general and
well defined to be attributed to the cha
grin of disappointed litigants AS we
have studied closely the drift of these
criticisms and heard them discussed by
members of the bar, officers of the court,
suitors and bystanders we are able to
clearly identify and present some of
them. 1t is urged that the present oc-
cupant of the bench cannot try case
without clearly showing to outsiders to
which side of the case he leans. Not
that he is dishonest but nature intended
him for an advocate, and in his charge to
a jury he sometimes argues a case III be-
half of the unfortunate party with more
force than his attorney could have done.
To sustain this charge gentleman of
the bar cited to us the case of Dingman
VS. the State, 4Sth Wis. Reports, page 400.
where the Supreme court condemns this
mode constructing jury i'll the follow
ing terms ut is true he--the court
did not say in express language that he
held that opinion yet the forcibly argu-
mentative way in which he presented
the case on the part of the plaintiff, and
the entire omission to present the case
on the part of the defendant could have
but one effect upon the jury and that was
that the plaintiff, in the opinion of the
court, had made out cas and that the
defendant had failed in his defence"
When Judge on the bench adds to his
official influence the arguments of an
advocate he will likely securea prompt
and ready verdict on the part of the jury.
This may appearto some like dispatch"
but a case so tried seldom ends with such
a verdict. The defeated party feeling
he has not had a fair trial will appeal to
the supreme court and the litigation is
just begun. The unusually frequent APP
peals to the supreme court within the
last five years is remarked by members
of the bar as owing as much to the in
durable propensity of the Judge to play
the advocate as to any errors in law he
may have committed. The dispatch
! for which his honor has been so highly
extolled by his admirers has been shown,
up in this county, least, by recent COM
parsons made in THE HERALD.
His Honor has also chosen to saddle
our county with the expense of a Grand
Jury. The District Attorney must wait
till that body brings in its indictment.
He must keep large crowd of witnesses
on hand, so as to be ready to try each
| Indictment so found, for if he does not
| the defendant will be sure to demand a
trial and find him unprepared.
We will see how his honor requires
$4,000 to carry on a court when his
predecessor for the same period of time
five years-required only $4,000.
| True. there is a show of business, of ac-
! tivity and hustle in such ajostling con
gregation of petit jurors, grand jurors,
witnesses, parties, attorneys and extra
deputies to dignity the occasion. There
ought to be avery thorough, satisfactory
and improved administration of justice
to compensate for such a large increase
of court expenses. There is certainly
no dispatch when the judge leaves q
misses parties, witnesses, and jurors
when he has plenty of time before him
to reach the foot of the calendar and
visits city in q neighborng state to en-
Joy miniature worlds fair There is
certainly dispatch too in limiting the adj
dress of lawyers; and surely if an attor-
neY is in the habit of boring a jury with
his platitudes he ought to be limited.
This practice was, however, unknown
here until introduced by his Honor. AS
applied by him it has resulted in dissatis-
faction and appeals. One hour at noon.
only, is allowed to counsel to attend
dinner, examine the evidence and the
law applicable to the new points that
are sure to arise in every trial The
result is that no attorney finds that he
has done himself, his client, or his cause
/ justice. But the initial trial is quickly
over and the beaten litigant is sent on a
pilgrimage to a higher court. If his
lawyer is gagged he suspects that wrong
is done. Such rules may work well
enough in the supreme court where no
new points suddenly arise and where
the arguments of counsel are printed.
But where there is an ample recess al
lowed for lawyers engaged on trial to
arrange their argument such feelings
are ayerted.
Again it is doubtful if his Honor has
shown dispatch in criminal cases, in
volving the highest ofcrimes, at least in