News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-04-13
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

9 UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
q A Pen and Ink Photograph of tn,
= Judges and their Wonderful
~ Clerk.
{ The clerkship of the United States
/, Supreme Court, says Washington let
8 ter, is worth more than the salary oi
t four of the Justices, as it is said to fire.
3 quently pay over $40, 900 per year. The
charges are simply terrible. It costs
about dollar for the clerk to look al
r you, and another dollar to get out Of
his sight. They have little talk then
of keeping the decisions back as loEg
, as possible, often a couple of months,
and IN the mean time if any one wants
a copy of the decision it costs So 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 horrifed. The
court considered the application, and,
after holding it under advisement for q
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 a 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 10 the
custom was thing of the past. A law
took its 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.
1t 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 q per-
son has to read half hour or so before
the point in the discision ia reached.
But all this plays into the hands of the
,lerE. He gets 'Toaithy III consequence
Of it,. Imagine the readers of o paper
in these days of telegraph having to
wait three or four weeks for decision
The Judges are too slow. They don't ,
iAbCho w 10 olOW, but ehCJ dIO W1tAOub |
knowing it. 1t is seldom that decision
can be had in less than a month after ,
case has been argued. In similar courts
In England decision is given in five
minutes after 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. .
One 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 81, 200 per an :
mum by the Government. Some of the
Justices want to select their own body :
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 Justice to
violate this custom. !,
Mr.. 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 ! 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 !
lott House, ordered me to go down to .
breakfazt and then asked me what / :,
would have for breakfast, taking my
order to the cooks himself. / could not n
get rid of hiIa in any way. He haunted
me all the time. That fellow will be
The death of me. I have this satisfac-
lion, however, the other Justices are
tortured in the same way"
When Mr.. 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 I
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 q
fellow he does not like. !
They are death on custom they live {
on custom, and not one of the body SER
wants does thing different from what
he did years ago. Asa rule, the body
are past middle age. The
fathers and grandfathers of some of
them served in the same capacity, for
they never let new man into the ring.
A Tramp's Awful Fate.