Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-12-30


pense OF suits is matter of interest to
the entire community.
| have known of case within the last
year, where the legal expenses OF a suit
to collect less than 500, secured by a
mechanics lien, were made to amount to
$l46.
Such hardships as this are impossible
under code, where the costs attending
every stage in an action are absolutely
fixed
| earnestly recommend this subject to
your attention in the hope that even If a
complete code is not adopted this year,
a commission may be appointed to re-
port fully as to this very necessary reform
at the opening OF the next legislature.
And furthermore recommend that If
a complete code be not now adopted, at
all events the law relative to proceedings
in suits before trial may be remodeled &C
cordng to modern ideas, so as to relieve
our courts and greatly diminish their ex-
pense. Under our old system, all pro-
cess is made returnable at the court, and
even if a suit be begun five months be-
fore, nothing can be done toward getting
the case at issue until the court meets.
Under the code system no case is brought
before a trial term OF the court, until it is
ready for trial. The complaint has to be
answered in twenty days if there is no
answer, the plaintiff Immediately takes
judgment before the clerk, and the case
is ended without occupying the time of
the court at all. If an answer be made,
twenty days is allowed for a reply. These
papers pass simply between the attorneys
OF the parties or may be filed in the
clerks office. After the issue is formed,
the case may be noticed for trigl and thus
brought before the court for adjudication,
| think it is safe to say that three .fourths
OF the actions commenced never come be-
fore court at all, but are ended by de
fault, settlement or discontinnance,
without ever occupying moment OF the
time of judge or jury. No case appears
on a docket except those noticed for trial.
Thus when the court meets it finds a
short docket of cases which it is actually
intended to try, and at once proceeds to
dispose of them before the jury. Much
OF the first week. of our courts is at pres
ent occupied by preliminary matters, by
the appearance OF attorneys, by the fail
ing of answers, by applications for time
to answer or reply, and by score of in
cidental matters which under code are
all attended to out of court, and have to
be finished before the case is ready to be
noticed for trial. While this is going on,
the jury is waiting, simply wasting its
time and entailing expense on the county.
Under a code the court begins to try
cases Immediately after the call of the
docket, and continues trying them unin-
10
constantly occupied no time is lost; and
more business is actually transacted in
week than under our Anticipated system
is finished in month. The amount of
time occupied by courts in New Mexico
seems absurd to one accustomed to
modern code. We have now five separ
ate circuits employing the time of five
judges, to perform the legal business of
less than 200 900 people. The chief item
of our public expense, is the courts, SIM
ply because their terms are so protracted.
1t is easy to calculate the daily expense
of court, with all of its officers, and
Jurors, and the witnesses waiting from
day to day until their cases shall be
reached. Everything which adds sim
gle day to the time occupied, costs the
people large sum of money. | say
without hesitation, that the length Of our
court terms is double now, what it would
have to be under code. This may
sound extravaganza but it is true. We are
not specially litigous people. We do
not have more civil suits or more Grim
inal trials than the same number OF citi-
zens in any state. But the length of our
trial terms is utterly out of proportion to
n m q
code practice.
| have obtained for comparison the
lengths Of courts of all kinds having sim
liar Jurisdiction to our district courts, in
two counties OF New York, one in the ex-
IRENE south, and one in the north, and
both quite similar to aur larger counties
in their general character. One is Suffolk
county, containing 900 inhabitants in
1880 and certainly over 10000 now the
other is St. Lawrence county with pop
ulation in 1890 of $4,000. The former,
thus containing 5000 more people than
Colfax, Mora, San Miguel and Santa Fe
combined, had twenty-one days days of
court during the last year. The latter
equalling all Of our counties from the
southern line to Santa Fe, inclusive, did
it's whole business in thirty-three days.
A modest docket from st. Lawrence
county for the late October term, con-
tanning eighty-six cases, forms contrast
to that of the San Miguel court beginning
on the same day with its 29l civil terri
torial cases which think shows the adj
vantage OF the code method of noticing
for trial. These comparisons point the
moral better than many words.
Allow me TO call your attention to few
recent statutes which seem to require modi-
fication or repeal. In the first place may be
mentioned the
CHANGE OF VENUE LAW.
This is Chap. II of the Laws of 1889, and
its effect is to deprive the Court of all dis
cretion in granting changes of venue, ana
give to either party an absolute right tc
such change on filing an affidavit. This is
not only contrary to practically universal
custom, but is intrinsically wrong and leads
TO none but bad results. Such law existed
here prior to 1884, but was repealed in that
wear on account of the improper uses tC
which it was put and its evil effect on the
administration Of justice. 1t was usec
simply by criminals to postpone their trial:
until the witnesses should have disappeared
or by parties in civil suits, in the endeavol
to bring their cases to trial in some county
where they could influence the jury. So fal
as any good purpose was concerned it was
entirely unnecessary as it has never beer
charged that a judge refused to grant g
change of venue in any proper case The
re-enactment of this law was a sad mistake
and the history Of its use during the las
two years does not change the estimation in
which it was previously held. 1t is wrong
in theory and pernicious in practice, anc
sh oud be promptly repealed.
THE WIRE FENCE LAW.