Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-05-12
Herm3lo Letter.

!
 HERMosILLo, April 19, 1883. EDITOR CITIzEN;-One of the most ! pleasing featu' ss hete l. the prompt ad
 Dlnistration of justice The Court
 house, IT Tribunal" Is a ST acious. one
 story building. with large and cleauly
 swept yard, around which the different
 offices are situated. Over each door a slgn in plain black letters indicates tO
 what particular business each office Is dedicated. The floors are of brick, some overlaId with Mexican mats; the furui-
 ture k plain, but still everything Is r. deriy and clean. The Courtroom of the Supreme Court tor perhaps what We
 would call District COurt) Is neatly furnished in black walnut, Brussels car pet aud heavy dark red damask curtains.
 Ihe three Judges to whom 1 was intro- duced are gentlemen of great eruditiOn, well read Tn materIas juris, and received me very courteously. Since 1879 the trIal by jury was aoolIshed in sonora. Lesser offenses are tried before the Jdez de la lnsJancla, who has aoout the same functions and power as Our Justices uf the Peace: If case, crlmlnal or evil. comes before him which Is beyond hls power tO declde, the case Is at once brought before the Supreme or District CIuri, which Is ID daily session all the year through. The Judges assemble ln thelr Courtroom at once, the prisoner or claimant Is brought before them, the necessary wrIts for the witnesses are is- sued, and the trial begins upon their ar rival A prisoner without means Is allowed Co select an attorney for hls de- tense, who receives his compensation from the State. There k no such d thin- as holding a prisoner over till that mystic body called a grand jury sits over nm, accuses hlm-to be set free by a trial jury after months of innocent con 1nemenr. The indictment, or "Acta de AcusaciOn," is couched in clear aud pre- else language, stating the tune, place manner, and nature of the crime. and not n that cOnglOmeratl n of broken sentences which our law curiOusly enough as yet deems necessa to make out that important paper. With the eX. ceptlOn of the lawsuits about the divi- Slon Of large real estate between the heirs of a deceased pr prietOr, O. other suits where land grants and titles f vast propOrtl Us are n question, there k no great harvest te.d for attorneys at-law. In the first place everybody K allowed 70 plead for a friend or client without lavIng any diploma as a lawyer. Those attorneys, who would not be considered Iu the United States as lawyers, de jure, aIe here such de factO and as their charges are very moderate, nOtwlth- standing that many of them are well read m law, eloquent and shreWd, they make great 'pposltlon to the actual at tnrneys who possess diploma from one 3f the law colleges of the Republic. The former are called "huisicherOs," the
 atteS "hceuciados." Then again Is a lawye Dill subject to a certain tariff established by ldg, unless an attorney IgS made d contract with his client for ,sated com pehsarIDI for stated services, re latter can submit the formers bIll to the conrt for reduction on Overcaarges IS per tariff The lawyers are strictly joined Iu criminal cases, tO avoid t>klug unnecessary, nor pertinent or confusing questions of the witness on the stand aud an attempt to bother or Drow-beat witness IS immediately .hecked by the presiding Judge. All facilities are given to tue poor man to lDtIn his rights; If he has sufficient proof Of ms claim m a civil suIt, he need nas- no q -poslt nor give security for -oSts, etc all the expense he Is put to .rr -le few stan ps tO be placed on the papers required for his case. The three iui res of the above ID autiOned court re- 'eiva from the State a monthly compen- -atl ,n of Sll0 each, two clerks aud one messenger, and an allowance of 8 for
 tat.onary. They take the presiding cha every four months in rotation.
 l must say that I could not help ad- mir ug the promptness and justice of rheir decIsi1ns ID what few cases I have witnessed. and If the people elect al- ways three judges like those now in office, that most important branch of their State Government will remain a lnpdel institution. If they are not in- terfsred wIth)
 Upon invitation I also visited the of ticr and laboratory of NIT. Eugenio Pes eueira, M. D, who very courteously showed me all his instruments, among which I found the latest inventions. His Thermo-Cantire (frOm PaQuelier) is a splendid apparatus for eauterization, also his electric instrument with biss, halum Of mercury from the firm of arr Gaiffe, ID Paris Besides these he hs- | complete collection of instruments Sbr autopsy. uterine diseases and in short for all cases of anatomy and surgery. His diploma is from the City of Mexico, whence Mir. Pesqueira visited France, and tbe United States to finish off his medical studies. He Is sub -cr5brr to the London Lancet, La Noz de Hippocrates. G4cets Nedica, Acade- mia de Medicina, from Mexico, Gazette Nedicale and Revue Scienttique. from Paris. SPRING.