The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-01-15
THE FOURTH JUDGE.


Everybody hopes that the moVemen
on the part of the Legislature looking
TO the securing of a fourth Federal
Judge for U tab will succeed. 1t ought
10 succeed. The judicial system in
ficted upon the Territory has always
been an outrage on justice. The ev.l
has been pointed out and protested
against so often, and the appeals for re-
lief have been so many and so earnest
that people have almostlost hope for an
improvement. There are two districts
in tic Territory the First and the
Third the Ut cation arising in which
cannot possibly be adjusted by the
judges. no matter how expeditiously
they may work. If the days in the
year were increased one third, and the
judges we're to allow themselves no rest
they would be dragging along behind
the calendar and itigants would suffer
and rights DE disregarded. Both these
courts are months behind the business,
and have been in that condition
for years. 1t would be unreasonable
TO ask the judges to work harder
than they do, or to put in more hours on
the bench; and even if their Honors
were equal to more work, it would be
rank injustice to htlgants to impose
more upon them. TIE complaint has
been, and is, that the judges are SO
oVerYorked that they cannot give the
time and attention to cases that the
latter demand. Too many decisions, too
many written opinions show haste and
lack of proper consideration.
But the overwOrk of the judges is not
the only evil in this connection, and it
is doubtful if it is the greater one. q
decidedly ridiculous, if not a down
right ugly feature OF the system is that
which makes the three judges the Su-
prems Court. in which all appeals must
be decided. The genius who devised
this judicial system must have enter
taiied peculiar ideas of men and of
Justice, or he never would have thought
of comforting on Judge the privilege of
passing upon his own decisions. 1t
comes very close to making of the
Supreme Court farce. Why there
should be Supreme Court under the
circumstances it would be well for
somebody who knows to explain. No
matter how outrageous or how
Aagrantly contrary to law and the
facts d Judgment in the lower courts
may be, litigant hesitates long before
deciding upon An appeal, except to gain
time. He takes the case up with the
knowledge that the judge before whom
it was tried ANill review andpass upon
the Judgment; he is aware that one
third of the court is against him, and
he also realizes that that third is very
apt to be more influential with the two
thirds than the books or the arguments
of lawyers. 1t would be courageous
Judge who would oyerrule his brother
when he was aware that that brother
perhaps in the very next case called
would have an opportunity to retaliate
byoverruling him. The uniformity of
the affirmations of judgment in the Su-
preme Court is one of the most forcible
arguments that can be presented
against the judicial system which makes
the trial judge the reviewing justice.
The Legislature will petition for
fourth Judge, as has been done before,
and ask that the trial judge be
prohibited from sitting in the Supreme
Court on that case. If the petition
shall be granted-as we doubt that 1t
will be, so little attention does Con
aress pay to the righteous requests
going up from this Territory-perhaps
the courts will be able to keep some
where in the neighborhood of the end
of the calendar, and when mau goes
mr. is forced into court, he will not feel
that he leaves hope behind as to the
time when he will get out. A party
NAV also appeal from what he regards
a wrong Judgment with more prospect
of having his claim adiudicated by
others than those who have already
decided against him.
Lest this petition should be disre-
parded and fail, as so many others have
done. wsuld it not be well for the
LEGISLATURE to make resajustment of
TIE judicial districts? The First and
Third districts are entirely too large
while there is not enough business in
thu Second TO keep the judge occupied.
II would be well to take from the First
and add to the Second, and thus re-
lieye the former. The arrangement
might Inconvenience litigantS some
what. but that difficulty could be
largely overcome by providing for the
holding of court in different places in
the Second district as IS now done in
sae First
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