The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-12
THE SUPREME COURT.


The present Supreme judges are not wholly
to blame for the present manner of admins
tering the law in this State Their immedi-
ate predecessors bequeathed to them large
crop of technical rulings, many of which, we
are glad to say, are being ignored by the pres
ent bench 1t should also be remembered that
the people in their sovereign capacity are the
source of all governmental power, judicial as
well as executive and legislative, and should,
therefore, assume their share of the response
bility. The docket has been for years so over
crowded as to compel the judges to either dis
pose of the cases on mere technical questions
Of practice, give slight examination to their
merits, or allow them to unduly accumulate.
The remedy is with the people. First, in the
circuits, incOmpetentmen are not infrequently
elevated to the bench because of their willing
ness to resort to methods to which the
better class of attorneys will not stoop
to secure nomination. When nominated
they usually poll their full party vote, and
and in a majority of such cases the records are
badly made up. On this account, the Legis-
lature has felt compelled to so hedge the trial
judges about as to destroy their individuality,
and in many cases constitute them mere regis
tering machines With frst-class trial judges
throughout the State, cases appealable could
and should be very greatly abridged, so that
only the important ones could ever find their
way to the court of last resort. The people
can, if they will, insist upon and secure the
election of such judges.
The commission chosen to aid the judges in
clearing the docket is not the best means that
could have been adopted. The judges are com
PEELED to hear and decide every question coming
before them before it can be allowed to pass
into the record This takes the time of the
judges, breaks the continuity of thought,
makes the body so large as to be unwieldy
and so divides the responsibility as to induce
carelessness. A bill was prepared by Judge
Frazer and Endorsed by leading members of
the bar throughout the State, and presented
to the last Legislature, for the establishment
of an intermediate Court of Appeals, which
would have greatly remedied present evils
without any increase of expense. Why the
bill failed to become a law could be explained
by certain parties, but probably never will be.
1t should be re-introduced at the next session
and pressed to passage.
By the provisions of the constitution, any
voter possessing good moral character can be.
admitted to practice in any and all of the
courts of the State, except the federal courts,
without any previous training. There are
many men, by means of this provision, who
edge their way into what should be an honora-
BILE and learned profession, and once in, en-
courage the bringing Of all kinds of suits,
even though devoid of merit, large numbers
of which, in badly mangled shape, find their
way to the Supreme Court to tax the time and
vex the patience of the judges.
What we need is a constitutional conven-
ton, composed of fifty of the ablest men in
the State, to whom, among other things the
whole question of judicial reform may be re-
fered.