Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-26
How 10 Reduce Criminal EN-
penses A move in the Right Di-
rppfiOu.

rectiOn.
To the EditOr of the Dispatch:
A correspondent in your issue of
the Goth instant, signing himself OK"
makes to me some startling dis
closures as to criminal expenses of
the State, and | don't see how the
statement therein made can possibly
be true; but as he afiirms them | sup
pose he knows whereof he speaks. Allow
me to say for the good old county of
Caroline that no fees have ever been paid
or asked for outof the pablo treasury by
the present Commonwealth attorney
for any criminal case wherein a aOtic
proscq,6 was entered nor in any case Of
conviction for a misdemeanor by Gus
tice of the peace, nor DO | believe any
such fees were ever paid to any prior
Commonwealth attorney for this coun-
tv. The court has to certify to the
Auditor that the attorney for the
Commonwealth is entitled to fee of
80 for the trial Of A b, charged with
felony. How can the court do SO if there
is no trial and there is no trial eek
cept by Jury" And the county court
has no authority to certify to the Audi
tor any Judgment. either of conviction
or acquittal, in misdemeanor cases rem
dered by justice. How, then, can the
Auditor have paid for such ? Let us
have the specific facts and the manner
in which these fees have been drawn out
of the Treasury. ! never knew one
court 10 certify the records of another,
and the county court can only certify
its own records. As to the $50 allowed
Commonwealth attorneys in the circuit
courts, while it may technically be
said that said courts have no
original criminal jurisdiction, cases in
which the prisoner may be punish
ed with death can on his motion be
removed to the circuit court. In which
event its jurisdiction is original SO far as
the trial is concerned, and in all case
the circuit court has appellate jurisdic-
ton, and the quantity of business it does
of criminal nature depends altogether
upon the fact whether or not the Judge
Of the county court is learned in the
law" AS matter of fact, most OF the
important and grave criminal cases are
tried in the circuit courts. For the ardu-
Gus services rendered in these courts
possibly the prosecuting attorney ought
to receive no compensation. This point
| will not argue. AS We have county
Judge learned in the law, but few OF our
criminal cases go to the Circuit Court.
But in addition to the grace errors
pointed out by "X," if they really ex-
list, can show, think, where the crimi-
nal expenses can and should be lessened.
| have a case now. The prisoner was in
dicted at the January term of the County
Court, bat had not had preliminary
examination before a justice OF the
peace. So the court had to issue
bench warrant and direct the sheriff to
take the prisoner before a justice and to
summons before HIM all the witnesses
upon whose evidence the indictment was
found, which was done--the witnesses
travelling fifteen miles TO testify the
second time before the Justice, who, OF
course, sent him on to the County Court
for trial Why this farce ? The case,
but for this, could have been tried at the
January term, but Instead the prisoner
has TO be boarded in jail month, the
justice and all the witnesses have to be
paid for doing the second time what the
grand jury, with the witnesses before
them, had already done. | see no good
reason for sending a man before a justice
for a preliminary examination after a
grand jury has examined bis case and
found an Indictment preferred against
him by the State ga true bill"
A. Il. CHANDLER.
Commonwealth Attorney for Caroline
County.