The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-21
THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
Gen. Stiles Laments the Lack Of Pro
gress in Jurisprudence.
From the Ch{crgO Mems

From the Chicago NetCs.
ait is about time that lawyers walked up
to the needs of their profession" said Gen.
l. N. Stiles. The legal profession of to-
day is practically that of the middle
ages. The whole tenor of it is contrary to
the spirit of the age. Lawyers are usually
cred tied with perhaps more than the aver
age amount of acumen and discrimination,
and yet while other professions have been
making rapid strides in progress, they
have almost stood still. The medical
profession has courted innovations
and weighed their value. Even
0heologianS, about whose conserv-
atisn so much has been said, have practic-
ally worked over theology. The legal pro-
fessiOn alone keeps on a guing and Judging
ing from precedent.
THAT old sophism that the law is wiser
than any one man has been productive of
disastrous results. 1t may have some truth
and value as an expression for judicious
conservatism; but the trouble is that it daily
adduces Old decisions as al excuse for not
making good, honest, everyday judgments
On the merits of particular cases. Go iuto
our law courts to-day aud you will hear law
yers in their arguments and pleas citing a
oug list of cases, and the decision made in
them, with the purpose of turning the judges
mind backward. judges are tilnid
and are influenced into paying defer
ence to these old decisions. Cases are NV
daily argued and judged on he basis of a
Set Of conditions different from those of the
present day and on the meri of decisions
by periwigged judges who perhaps were in
competent 10 pass judgment in their own
time, let alone ours. This is taDtamount to
saying that the wisdom of former years or
former ages is better than ours, and it is
wrong.
''The most valuable law reports now in
use are those of early Indiana and CalifOr-
MIA. The reason is obvious There was
dearth Of former decisions to fall back upon
and cases were argued and judged on their
own merits. Arguments of common sense
and decisions of judgment and consciencs
were The rule and preCedents cut little fig
ure. | would rather have the out-and-out
Judgment of Anthony or Jud ge Grinnell,
or any other man jmpeJent to fill his posi-
tion-and none other should be appointed
to office-than a decision warped or colored
by decisions previously made.
"The point is that former decisions are
| used both 10y lawyers and judges either as
a screen for ignorance or as a lever for
straining point, not in the interest of jus
tice, but for the purpose Of winning a suit.
Mere technicalitles are thus used for thwart-
lug Justice Incompetent lawyers are glad
to argue from precedent, and interruptions
to subserve questionable purpose. There
is more sticking in the bark, as they say
down SOUTH mean failure to get down to
the essence, the right and wrong Of ques-
tion-in the legal profession than in any
other 90 aally intelligent body of men under
the sun. Charlatansm Is scarcely the word
by which to designate this practice, for it
is as often policy as otherwise, and 1t Is bad
policy, too.
at ought not to be possible for a lawyer
TO take adva tage Of q technicality, and l.
would not he were it not that SO much def
ere CO is paid to the aggregate wisdom OF
past law proceedings. Every age offers
different set OF conditions and circun-
stances, and believe that every age is bet
ter qualified to pass Judgment Oh its own
difficulties and disputes than preceding
age is. The most notable examples Of law
yers and judges discarding precedelts and
coming down to the hard-pan of facts and
Independent judgments we're the cases OF
the anarchists anu of Mcdonald the hood
ler,' aud if this course were universally fol-
lowed the ends of justice would be better
met.
LAS an old lawyer l say, and say honest
ly, that the last place to get justice Is in
a court of Justice. AL this )nsensical dis
ii ction between courts Of equity and
courts of law is wrong-a source OF qulb-
bling agd pelvs $40 Toe checks and
guards OuCo necessary hIo INV hoO OAAJ
u neces airy bu. positive DRAWBACK.
There once 8 time vuel prosecu-
tions and prosecutions were the rage. limo
cent people were in jeopardy and Judge in
the interest Of IigIt and justice we're glad
TO avail themselv-s OF technical On, cks.
Now the danger is that wrong-doers will go
scot free, and the needs of tn age, 50 far
as law is concerned, is not checks but means
of enforcing he statutes.
tt'Than n T,lin in case OF nOn-COnvlctlOl,
the point Is re eatedly raised that the law
is at fault. why are the lawyers and leg
islators of the present day not competent TO
make lawp Why should they brook seeing
Justice thwarted by reasoI Of all alleged
defect in past decision and legal enactuents
making no progress to speak Of and letting
men in other liues Of thought run away with
theml / do not mean to imply that past
decisions and legal proceedings are to be
thrown overheard. ! mean that their pres
emit use Is unwise and ilegitimate, and that
the only way to further the ends Of justice