Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-08-19

The Dispenser OF justice In the Bis
marck District Possesses Peculinri-
ties.
Lamoure Progress.
The efforts OF Judge Francis, of this
district, to introduce reforms into the
methods OF procedure, and of personal
conduct in his court. do not seem to
meet with any distinguished measure OF
success. At the term now in progress,
or recently held IN Valley City, as we
infer from the local reports, the Judge
undertook to instruct such promin ant at
torneys as Greene and Stone, of Fargo,
as to the manner in which they should
manage the defence of prisoner, then
on trial, and strangely enough those
gentlemen manifested determination
not to permit the court to interfere with
what they styled their right to conduct
the case as they might deem for the best
interest OF their client. This perversity
on the part of the counsel,it is said, led to
some singular scenes, and to complaints
that they were not being fairly treated.
This shows how difficult it is to reform
methods established by long usage, and
the result would doubtless have had q
discouraging effect upon any man less
determined to have his own way than
Judge Francis.
Another occurrence reported reveals
the same characteristics in different
branch of reform. The day was hot and
sultry, and while attention was absorbed
with the interest of the case in hand it
appears that somebody had the temerity
to seek relief by dispensing with sn outer
garment. All at once came the startling
exclamation from the bench: THAT
man in the back part of the room will
put on his coat!' "Your Honor" said
Gen. Wilson, of Fargo, "if that is to be
the rule, beg leave to suggest that the
court will button up his vest" 81 will
do i'll will do it, sir" responded the
dlenified judge, and order once more
reigned In Warsaw-or rather in the hall
of justice.
These are only specimen bricks oi
court proceedings under Judge Francis,
according to general report, and while
they indicate the notifications of Law
and custom which he is seeking to in.
troduce, with all the zeal of reformer,
do not by any means cover the whole
| field of reform upon which he has en-
tered. Last winter the Judge presided
at the trial of Thomas Magill, for mur.
der. at Bismarck. 1t was singular
trial, in many respects, one of the
strong prevailing impressions being
that the Judge was "agin the prisoner
The result, however, was q disagreement
OF the jury-the actual fact being tha
not one suspected the indictment-si,
being for acquittal, and si,
for low grade Of manslaughter
The usual practice in suct
cases is to admit to bail. But Judge
Francis, in the spirit of reform, doubt
less, and in the exercise of his discre.
ton, decided to refuse bail. Subse.
quently bill was passed by the legisla
ture authorizing bail in such cases, which
the governor vetoed. Then the bill wa.
passed over the head of the governor
and became law, as every body knows
because of the pending Magill case
But Judge Francis, with that stubborn
devotion to his own ideas of reform
for which he has been distin
guished during his brief judi
cial career, declined to aecep
the action of the legislature as an IN
struction, and Tom Magill still Ian
Ruishes in the Jail at Bismarck, withou
opportunity of procuring bail.
There are those who profess to thlnl
the judge is crotchety, one-sided, un
balanced, and more or less of q cranl
generally; but these people evidentl,
fai! to see that he is simply q reformel
and has his ideas as to how to run
court. and that If others will only sur
render their cruder notions about la,
and courts, ct cetera, and accept his, al
will go smooth, and we shall have q re
formed Judiciary in Dakota