The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-02-04

mediate appellate court OF eacn judicial
circuit with a limited right of appeal from |
that court to the supreme court similar to |
what is now known as the Davis bill, or
possibly the creation of one such interme |
date appeal court for the whole of the |.
United States, sitting at Washington.
CHIEF JUSTICE FULLER's OPINIONS.
l next called upon Chief Justice Fuller.
found him at his residence on Massachu- |
setts avenue, and chatted with him for an
hour as to the condition of the court and
its business. He objected to being quoted
in an interview, but allows me to use the
of his conversation, which is as
follows:
He stated that it had been apparent for
years that the supreme court was over
crowded, and that without going into de-
tail he thought the recommendation by the |
President in his message should be acted |
upon by Congress and an intermediate |
court created. He had held this view, he
said, for the past ten or twelve years. He |
spoke of the impossibility of the supreme
court taking care of its cases, stating that |
there were 1900 cases on the docket |
and that it takes three and a half
years before case can be reached. |
''The best" said he, THAT can be expected
of the justices at present is to dispose of as
many cases as are added, which of course
leaves the same number always pending
The chief justice thinks that the court is
now disposing of few more cases than for
some time past but says it has been ham
pered by not having the full number of
judges on the bench. He referred to the
proposition of dividing the court into sec
tions, either increasing the number of
judges or leaving the number as it is and
allowing the sections to pass upon certain
classes of cases, the court as a whole hav-
ing to dispose of constitutional ques-
tions or the opinions in all cases
to be examined by the whole
court, and said that such division
might result in reducing the docket some
what but he thought it would detract from
the dignity and weight of the tribunal and
would probably add to the labors of the
judges instead of tightening them. AS to
the proposition for the creation of an in
termediate appellate patent court at Wash
ington which would find the facts and to
that extent simplify the work upon appeal,
the chief justice thought that this would
probably reduce the work one sixth He
spoke in high terms of the late Senator
mediate appellate court, and he said that
such court had proven successful in Hi
nois.
JUSTICE JOSEPH P. BRADLEY
has been ON the supreme bench for twenty
years and is regarded as one of the most
learned iurists in the country. Although
seventy seven years of age he is extremely
active and does more work in day than the
average man of thirty. Judge Bradley is
essentially self-made man and the attain
ment of his present position is the result of
his own interchangeable efforts, prosecuted
often under the most adverse circum-
stances. His knowledge of patent law and
mechanical devices is prodigious and be
figured with especial prominence during
the recent patent ftigations before the
court. / called upon him at his residence
on | street last night, and he stopped rfrom
his legal tasks In the midst OF pile of law
volumes TO give me his views Said he:
although either of the measures before
Congress to relieve the surplus business
before the court would help, [ would draw
up measure different from either of
them, if the matter were in my charge
The members of the court feel oppressed
with the enormous quantity of cases before
the tribunal | am up at 6 o'clock in the
morning and do an hours work before
breakfast, after which l go directly back
to work again and continue at it until 90
to the court. After it has adjourned for
the day the opinions are to be written and
| am here in this library continuously
after dinner until midnight 1t is a
slaves life. The public has very little
idea Of the slavery of a judges life Sit
| ting in open court, as you see, is not half
the Job.
''if the court were divided into three
branches" continued Judge Bradley,
''three justices would have to do the entire
work of its section, including the writing
of opinions, which is the hardest part of
the work. 1t would of course, facilitate
the work, but the judges labors would be
increased even much beyond what they are
now. No scheme has been presented to
| L.. ,1,Nxlr- e.. l..
from objection, but all the judges are of the
unanimous opinion that some expediens
should be adopted to afford relief There
is a difference Of opinion as to the constitu-
| tionality OF any measure to divide up the
court for facilitating its business, and the
constitution says there shall be one supreme
court only. The highest courts of England
and France, however, are divided up into a
number of courts. The English high court
of Justice, for instance, is divided into a
dozen branches, where acquity, criminal,
ecclesiastical, admiralty and other case s
are tried separately, and the English have
no court of appeals above and as part of
their high court of justice, which is their
highest tribunal next to the house of lords
The cessation court of France is divided
up into several departments.
JUSTICE BREWER,
though the youngest of the Judges, comes
fresh from the law, and he is. perhaps. the
best representative of the feeling of the
people as to the backwardneSs of the bust
ness before the court. Said he:
1.-The condition OF the supreme court
business is an outrage upon the people.
Cases are not reached for from three to
four years after they are placed on the
docket and the greatest of Injustice often
results from such delays. I will cite only
one instance and that is in life insurance
cases. A man insures his life with the idea
that if he is cut off his insurance money
viii pay for the support of his wife and the
| education of his children. He insures we
say for Sc 900 in two or three companies.
| He then goes on with his work, satisfied
that his children are provided for. He
dies, and for some reason or other the in
surance companies refuse to pay the
money. Suit is brought and decided
in favor of the dec sased. The case is APP
pealed by the rich corporation. 1t comes
| before our court, and 1t takes four years
for US to reach it. BY the time it is settled
the children who were to be educated by
this money have grown up, and the wife it
may be has lived in the most destitute of
circumstances. The lawyers throughout
the country are interested in this question.
and it is question which ought to be set
tied by the present Congress.
This is the long session of Congress, and
it is the first session after the Presidential
election, when there usually is much bust
ness and little politics. / have thought
over the matter for years, and the opinion
l have is not the result of the short time
! have spent in Washington on the bench
My idea is one which | hold in common
with the other justices.
Il believe there should be intermediate
appellate COURTS" continued Judge Brewer
I'm each of the districts, to decide all cases
of limited their, daoi hai q