The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-03-08
THE WOODEN JUDGES.
A Notable Chapter Of History Anent
That Queer ?. r. 4. Decision.


The most conspicuous branch of the
State Cover nment during the past week
has been the lay members Of the Court Of
Errors and Appeals or, as an unapprecia-
tive public has termed them, the wooden
judges. People have been asking who
and what these men are, who, without any
learning In the law can decide cases finally
against the opinion Of the law members
Of the court; what reason can there be
for such burlesque Of justice and why
should they not be abolished9
The lay judges are constttp sional Officers
and are appointed by the Governor with
the consent OF the Senate. under the
second clause OF Section 2, Article VI, of
the Constitution, which provides that the
Court OF Errors and Appeals shall consist
OF the Chancellor, the justices OF the Su-
preme Court and six judges or a major
part of them. There ID nothing in the
clause which requires the judges
should choose to do so there
is nothing TO prevent him from appoint
ing lawyer. The present Judges. how
ever, are all iayrnen and are:- HeBdrick
II. Brown, Abram @. Smith, John Glenn
ents, Martin Cole and Jonathan S.
Whitaker. There Is one vacancy on the
lay bench caused by the death Of Judge
receive no yearly salary but are paid
IS for each day they are in attendance at
court.
THE ORIGINAL LAY JUDGES
Our forefathers alw avs had awholesome
respect for the common law and judicial
system OF Great Britain. however much
they denounced and execrated the execu-
III her r xrr<o l1n Faof exrS-
tenn and their admiration for il was little,
If any, short of that of the immortal
Blackstone himself. When they broke
away from the mother country then. and
on July 2, 17fG. ct Burlington
in Congress assembled declared that
mAl civil authority under George the
Third, King of Great Britain, Is necessar-
lily at an end in these colonies, y and I'VE,
the representatives Of tue colony of New
Jersey, having been elected by all the
counties in the frees6 manner and in Con-
gress assembled have after mature de-
liberation agreed upon set Of charter
rights and che form of constitution"
they copied the English judicial system
as far as was consistent with the new order
OF things The English Court Of Appeals
was the House OF Lords, and cur ancestors
copying that ancient institution created
what was called the Legislative Council
This consisted of one representative from
each county who shall be and have been
for one whole year next before the
election, an inhabitant in the county in
which he is chosen, and worth at least
one thousand pounds proclamation money
of real and personal estate Proclamation
money was lawful money according to
the proclamation Of Queen Anne, made in
1T0z, which decreed tnat the dollar in the
American Colony should be reckoned at
six shilliugs. BY degrees various eqnlve-
Tents were accepted for tals thousand
pounds; as, for example, any one who
performed q certain amount of military
service was considers worth the requisite
amount until it came to amount to prac-
tically nothing.
The Councils power and authority was
about the same as that now possessed and
exercised by the Senate, with the addi-
rion that with the Governor the members
composed the Court of Errors and APP
peals as the last resort in all causes OF
law and possessed the power of granting
pardon TO criminals after condemnation
IN al cases. This state of affairs conin-
ued until the new constitution OF lc4f
went into effect. Then the Council was
abolished and the functions distributed.
Its legislative powers went to its direct
heir and successor, the Senate; the Court
of Pardons succeeded TO its pardoning
powers while all the authority it pos
sessed as final resort in all causes went
WHAT THE WOODEN JUDGES WERE TO DO.
The popular notion in permitting lay
men to participate il the final deterinina-
ton of cause was that the greater JUS
tice would thereby be done. The laynen
were to be sert jury so that while the
law lords or judges considered the legal
features of the case the laymen would de-
eide all questions of fact:
The New Jersey lay judges heretofore
have been content to sit on the bench,
draw their S. per day, and follow the
lead of some law judge when it came to
affirm or reverse Only once before did
they array themselves against their legal
brethren and outvote them. In that case
friendship influenced the wooden men.
There was a certain lay Judge
who was exceedingly friendly toward d
lawyer who came before the Court with
case which he was more than DESTROYS
to win he acquainted his friend,
the lay Judge, with his desire, and he
undertook TO fix it for him. The case was
argued on Friday The usual conference
was held and the case decided by the lay
Judges against the wooden mans friend.
Monday was fixed as "A day for reading
the opinion. On their way home that
afternoon the lay judge requested his
friend 10 write an opinion for him in
his own favor. This was done, and on
Monday the law Judge read his opinion
against the lay judges friend. and the
other law Judges voted with him. When
it come the lay judges turn to vote, he
solemnly wiped his glasses, cleared his
throat and voted TO reverse for the fol-
lowing reasons. and on he went TO read
the lawyers opinion on his own case he
had done some excellent missionary work
among his fellow men, and they were
with HIM to a man.
t.a1 10 var r,f1