Connecticut western news., 1882-03-29
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
A Pen and Ink Photograph of the Judges and their Wonderful Clerk

A Pen and Ink Photograph of the
 Judges and their Wonderful
 Clerk.
 The clerkship of the United States Supreme Court, says Washington let ter, is worth more than the salary of four of the Justices, as it is said to fre- quently pay over $40, ,00O per year. The charges are simply terrible. It costs about dollar for the clerk to look at you, and another dollar to get out of his sight. They have little talk then of keeping the decisions back as long as possible, often couple of months, and in the mean time if any one wants a copy of the decision it costs $2 for each page of one hundred words.
 When Belva Lockwood, the female lawyer, applied for admission to prac- tice before the court, the Justices were shocked and the clerk mortified. The court considered the application, and, after holding it under advisement for a month or so, gravely declared against her, on the ground that it was against the custom, if not the law. Belva in reply said it was against the custom once to ride in 8 railroad car, or to light up house with gas, but those customs were not in keeping with the progress of the times. The reply was that there was no help for her. Belva, being practical, slipped over to the Senate, drew bill giving women the right to practice law, provided they were competent, and had it introduced. She had similar bill introduced in the House, which body passed it. The Senate in turn passed it, and To ! the custom was thing of the past. A law took it's place, and she or any other wo- man is now perfectly free to get big fee for appearing and arguing case be- fore the Supreme Court, provided she is fortunate enough to get employed.
 It is against the custom, and no one is allowed to do it under penalty of be- ing put out of the court room, for any one, newspaper reporter or lawyer, even to write word in the court room, or take note of any point in decision or remark of any of the Judges. This ap. pears strange, and yet it is a fact, and there are hundreds of newspaper core. spondents who know it from being pre- vented. The custom is to go to the clerk, and wait week or so for him to make such extract of an opinion as are wanted and pay him his fees. The only way to get over this is to keep the points in your head and write them out after coming out of the court room, which has to be done on what is called decision day.
 The opinions of the Supreme Court are much too long. They go into a history of every case, and often per- son has to read half hour or so before the point in the discision is reached. But all this plays into the hands of the clerk. He gets wealthy in consequence of it. Imagine the readers of paper in these days of telegraph having to wait three or four weeks for decision i! The Judges are too slow. They don't intend to be slow, but they are without knowing it. It is seldom that decision can be had in less than month after a case has been argued. In similar courts in England decision is given in five minutes after 8 case is argued. This is as it should be. The Judges, in hold ing off their decisions, without knowing it, are enriching certain number of resident attorneys at the expense of other attorneys, who do not reside in Washington <; for, knowing the delay, the expense of waiting, etc., non-resi- dent lawyers are frequently retired to secure the assistance of resident attor- neys to argue and look after their cases,
 Ore of the customs is that each Jus tice has body servant. The Justices get money for their own body servants, but the custom is otherwise, and the body servants are paid $1,2OO per an- mum by the Government. Some of the Justices want to select their own body servant, but they are not allowed to do it by the other body servants, for the custom is that the newly appointed Justice retains the body servant of his predecessor. The body servants have never been known to allow 8 Justice to violate this custom.
 MT. Justice Woods, who was ap- pointed by Garfield, in speaking to some gentleman of this custom, said "My body servant is the most annoying thing l have yet experienced. The fellow is the first man see in the morn ing and the last l see at night. He forced his way into my room at the Eli llott House, ordered me to go down to breakfazt and then asked me what I would have for breakfast, taking my order to the cooks himself. I could not get rid of hiLl in any way. He haunted me all the time. That fellow will be the death of me. I have this satisfac- tion, however, the other Justices are tortured in the same way"
 When MT. Justice Gray of Massachu- setts recently went on the Supreme bench, he had an idea he would do just as he pleased !; but after trial he finally had to yield, and is now as completely in the power of his body servant as any of the others. He not only was not al- lowed to select man for himself, but was forced to accept the services of 8 fellow he does not like.
 They are death on custom they live on custom, and not one of the body ser-