The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-07-09

Attorney General for the past four years
with distinguished ability, and will
doubtless have many warm and enthusl'
astic supporters for reelection.
TIE CURE WORSE THAN TIE EVIL.
In an article, headed "The Laws
Dolay,n the News and Courier says;
s.rn the North american Reoie,o for
April. 1885, Chief Justice Hargis dis
I cusses this well-worn topic. The article
;tself is mainly an animadyersion !; q
repatition of the reproaches and charges
which are daily made and repeated.
The causes Of the laws delay, ne says,
are demagogism, untaught anu selhsh
Legislators, lobbying, o poor judiciary,
corrupt and ignorant jurymen, the bulk
and. therefore, the uncertainty OF the
law. Allthis may be SO, but the evils
Jndpp Hargis names are evils to be cor.
rected. The legitimate: conclusion, from
his point of view, is that the laws delay
Is an inevitable evil, like original sin,
that can only be cured when the body
polite is itself thoroughly purlhed and
made ssgeneratss. :
,.Assuming uncertainty to be an inevi-
table evil. how can the delay resulting
therefrom be practically reduced to
minimum9 The evident answer is:
frst. by having questions finally decided
80, ssa;I,,; 90 nose;hle When the first
heat Of 3 controversy is in the minds OF
the parties they are best prepared 70 90
TO trial, and the more speedy the decision
the sooner are the i'll feelings consequent
on litigation buried and forgotten.
When cause once takes the form of a
lawsuit. and drags its slow length along,
it gets cold, as it were. Both the parties
ana their attorneys dislike to take it up,
and TO prepare, time and time again, for
trial. only to encounter postponement,
until the heartsick litigant cannot can
not contain his reproaches for the laws
delay .., e...,o = :
majority of the counties there are oot
two terms in the year at which civil
iprv cases can be tried. As a practical
fact, every lawyer knows that case can
be and is continued by one side or the
other at the first term; but the clients
: have ia he prepared lest, by some mlshap,
thew should be forced to- trial. Indeed,
out Of the average of civil cases IN tne
State the great mass never come 70 tlial
until they have been in litigation 1or
over wear. Meanwhile, both attorney
and client on one side or the other have
had to prepare and re-prepare until the
client. at least, becomes sick of the whole
thinp. Then comes the appeal. There
Is q delay Of six months before the case
Is heard By the Supreme Court OF the
STATE. and then of three or four months
more before the Court decides. In the
case. of The. .Bnited States Supreme Court,
it, from three to four years from tne
time of an appeal before the appeal can
be heard.
seThe remedy, so far as the mere ma
chinery Of justice is concerned, IS TO
have more terms of Court. For this in
South Carolina an increase in the num-
ber of Judges, and large increase, is
necessary. Inasmuch as jurors dislike
to be dragged from their work to try
cases, the class of civil causes requiring
iuries should be reduced. There is not
the slightest reason why the large class
Of civil cases not involving fraud should
not be tried by one or more Judges with,
ont q siury: and certainly the absurd
and illogical rule that creates so many
mistrials and delays, viz, that there snail "a
be the unanimous concurrence ot .ne
Jury, should be abolished in CIVIL cases
and majority be allowed to contr9i.
Continuances should be more rarely
allowed. Let it be an understood th!ng
chat o cause will be tried at the hIst
term, save upon the strongest kind OF
showing and enforce penalty for &c
lay, although both parties be willing.
aThe Supreme Court must sit oftener,
and if the Court as it stands would De
oYerWorked there is necessary such an
increase in the lmber of Judges suSn
a change in the iorm, rs will allow dl-
visions of the Court to decide ultimately
on different classes of cases. And fur'
thermore Their, needs to be change IN
the methods Ct the bar.
If our contemporary had attended the
Courts and watched the administration
of Justice in this State with that close
ness with which practicing attorney is
compelled to do, We imagine that differ
ent impressions would have been made
upon it in reference 10 judicial proceed
iprs in this State. If we had eight
Circuit Judges like Judge PRESLEY aud
others now upon the bench-learned in
the law, diligent in work and ready IN
dsciding-there would be no complaint OF
crowded dockets in South Carolina. Tie
trouble comes from the fact that there
are one or two Judges who have neither
the physical nor mental calibre to dis.
charge the duties of their office, and
hence they hold short sessions and DO
little work, leaving crowded dockets and
dissatisfied litigants. The law now
provides for speedy trial, and no jury
case can be continued beyond the first
term unless the party moving for con-
tinuance shall submit an affidavit that a
material witness is absent, that lie cannot
20 safely to trial without such witness,
and that he has used due diligence to
procure the attendance of such witness.
To force case to trial under these cir
cumstances. would defeat instead Of
fastening Justice. Neither would it be
wise to abolish the right of appeal upon
matters of Law, for that would place the
rights Of parties at the caprice of au
unprincipled OF weak Judge, and thereby