Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-05

LII tuo oldlo, DuG WuSu SGr1CUlY COE- ] strued would exclude those residing in towns or villages. This is apparently an oversight, which should be corrected. The number of poisons is found to be too restrict ] ed, and l would advise that laudanum and other dangerous forms of opium be added to the list of articles the purchase of which must be registered. The work of the con- is greater than was supposed it would be, and, consequently, some changes of minor consequence will have to be made to meet the facts. In general, however, it may be said that the law has worked we'll.
 There is nothing calling for particular dis l cussion here ill the reports of the railroad | commissioners or of the State board of health 1 or of any Of the other State boards. As have | regular administration of the State it | has been quite an uneventful year. l
 REORGANIZATION OF COURTS. 1
 It is of course impossible for me to say, 1 save in the most general way, wbat will be | the topics on which you will be called to act l at this session. Most Of the changes of our laws which are suggested to Legislature do not show themselves at all until presented under the form of bill or petition. There are, however, few subjects which have been discussed somewhat publicly, either by the press or by associations especially interested ip intelligent and effective legislation, which l think it proper to bring to your notice. One of these is the reorganization of the courts of the State. Every one familiar
 with the subject admits the defects which ex-
 ist, especially in our courts of first resort, o1
 original jurisdiction. Our system of justices
 of the peace bears evidence of having in
 great part outlived it's usefulness, so far as
 relates to the trial and decision of causes.
 The changes in our social condition during
 the last half century have been such that the
 justice courts as now organized do not meet
 the just demands of the people. One thou
 sand justices are elected every two years, and
 little inquiry Is made as to their capacity or
 fitness for the discharge of judicial duties.
 great number of minor civil cases are
 brought before, and are tried by these magis-
 trates. With a large part of our people all
 practical knowledge of justice and it's admin
 1stratlon is confined to what they have
 learned from experience In the justice courts.
 It is true that the amounts of money involved
 are commonly small, and can never exceed
 one hundred dollars, but the quality of jus
 tice should not be governed by the amount
 in controversy. To one man fifty dollars
 may be as important as five thousand to an other, and the rights of both parties should be as carefully examined and decided in the one case as in the other. It is said that there is remedy for the miscarriage of justice in these justice courts in the opportunity of ap- peal. But this is not always So. Unless the person aggrieved is in 8 position to prose- cute an appeal, it is the same to him as if no remedy existed. The organization of the higher courts is also susceptible to amend ment. The State has seen fit to change it's
 method of appointing the judges of the high CT courts in the hope that the State will have 1 the services of a high grade of ability. This 1 is right. The State should call the very best brains and the very highest learning to the bench, and should make the bench an object I of ambition to them. Very pertinent to the attainment of this end is the proper organi- \ zation of courts, that justice may be admin | istered with the greatest fairness, the least expense, the most certainty, and with as | much dispatch as consists with thorough | trial. A CRIMINAL CODE. ...- Allied to this topic and of quite equal i'm" portance, is the matter of the revision, amendment, encouragement and qualification of the body of our criminal lawr I do not think it is an error to say that in the opinion ! of the most of our people the efficiency of I the administration of criminal law has, within very few years past, been seriously ! impaired. Crimes, if not criminals, remain unpunished; the trials of criminal cases of capital importance or even of less gravity, 1t l they are of a nature to attract public atten- ! ton, have become g by-word for delay, and a reproach for uncertainty, and they are too often enacted at full length twice or even ! three times. Expenses also are often unjustly distributed, being thrown nn small towns, when they should be borne by the county or ! by the State. As consequence, the State has suffered in reputation. It is not easy to r fix the responsibility for this condition of l things. The fault is not wholly in the pro- cedure of the courts, though it is partly I there; it is not wholly in the system, as at present organized, of jury trials, though that 1 has share of it,; it is not wholly in the sub stance of our criminal law, defining crimes and imposing penalties. though no small part of it lies there, but it affects the whole body. | The acts now grouped under the title of l Grimes and Criminal Prosecutions have been enacted at various times end often with out much regard to each other, and there seems to be need for more accurate def- | nition of crimes and readjustment of penal 1 ties. Can there be any doubt that the crime of burglary, for instance, should be divided 1 into degrees, and punishments provided pro- The breaking into an inhabited dwelling house ill the night time, armed with a dan 1 gerous weapon, is in it's nature higher grade l of offense, and should be more severely pun I ished than the breaking and entering of an uninhabited dwelling in the night time by an unarmed person.
 ! It is important that the criminal law should be expressed in as plain and accur ate l 8 form as possible. It should be so set forth that any man can know with certainty for l what acts he may become liable to criminal punishment. When offenses have been com. mitted punishment should be sure. The cer- tainty of punishment is a much more power l full deterrent from crime than it's severity. l The criminal classes speculate upon their l chances of escaping the penalty of thei, l crimes, and the odds should be made very ! heavy against them. in our State the en- 1 forcement of criminal law is to g great ex. ! tent committed to men who are not trained l lawyers. Their work would be more eff | ciently done if the whole of the criminal law l was contained in a carefully prepared code l The preparation of such 8 code would not be
 an experiment, and presents no difficulties l beyond finding competent and willing per | sons to do the work. The appointment o1 commissions to consider each of the subjects I have here referred to would meet
 my hearty approval. During the l last few years Connecticut has made some important changes in her law tc | adapt it to the demands of our present soci ety. The results have been highly bene- ficial. That they are so is due in large meas ure to the fact that the statutes by which the changes were effected have been drafted by able and experienced men after careful l study. I can especially name in this connec
 tion the late Judge Seymour, who during the II last part of his life devoted large part ot his time to this important service. If it is thought best to appoint such commission | to enter upon the work of codifying ou1
 criminal law it should be provided that they report their progress to future assemblies, I and that they submit their work to the ex-
 animation, criticism and suggestions of the
 bench of judges, before it is reported to the Legislature for final enactment.
 ATTORNEY GENERAL. Our State has no recognized legal adviser, l or law officer. It has been the custom fo1
 the various departments of the government, when questions of law regarding their duties
 have arisen, to consult counsel as 1t pleased
 them, or to proceed according to custom and
 their own judgment In the making of con tracts and other work of legal nature the interests of the State have been protected, if at all, by occasional counsel. The Executive has had no one whose duty it was to over look these matters and to examine the ques-
 tions presented. It has happened from this
 state of things that the legal rights of the
 State have in some instances failed of proper protection and the State government has suf-