Telegram-herald., 1891-06-25

planned one day when lawyer OBJ
leesed 10 having eolored witnesses
sworn on the almanac
Judge Densoa's form Of oath and
his form OF tho marriage ceremony
were brief and not exactly according
90 the code. but both were effective
When be administered the oath 20
witness he said. You swear here. in
the presence Of God A'mity aud this
court Co tell the truth. 90 help you
Jesus Amenr
thing Ike this: John. you love this
woman? Mary. you love this man?
Then you are man an wife. and the
cost - two dollaxA
His first divorce case came up after
he had been in Office eight years, and
the principals happened To be couple
n had united in marriage some dva
wears before. The husband was the
plaintiff snd the wife had engaged .
lawyer When the husband told how
his wife had pulled his hair. boxed his
ears and then went 10 . candy pulling
with another man Judge benson
promptly declared them put asunder
according TO the law and the Gospel
"'But. your honor. you have no juris-
diction in this case. suggested the de-
PENDANTS attorney.
"'No WHAT? asked tho Judge. stern
ly--no man rad ever before dar ID ques-
ton ono of his decisions.
"'You have no authority In this
~ Ia ~ {sxSti.a
of the psace power TO grant . 'livorcc'
"'Diln't marry this eouple;"
eyes. but
"'Then III unmarry 'en. an you are
fined ten dollars for bein' in coutemp
of this court I'd like to see the law
that gives rue the power to splice peo-
pie an then says can't uncouple 'em
when they've got Scriptural proof
1.-The decision stood and no appeal
was ever taken.
In the trial of q suit for damages
where the plaintiff claimed to have
been swindled In a horse swap the de-
fendant demanded jury TO try the
case and Judge benson had . Jury
summoned II was summer and court
was held in the shade Of big oak tree
that day because the judges Office was
too small TO hold all the spectators
When the evidence was all taken the
jury retired to thick clump Of bushes
some distance away to make up their
verdict At the end Of an honr they
returned and reported that they could
not agree.
"'Bus you must agree said the
Judge, and he sent them back TO the Sc
clusion of the bushes. Again they re-
turned without verdict and reported
that eight were for the plaintiff and
four for the defendant
"Well, that's a verdict A majority
always rules In this country and the
Judge entered . verdict for the plaintiff
on his docket
'Once q negro was on trial boforo
Judge benson for carrying concealed
weapons. He had a lawyer who wanted
to prove that the prisoners life had
been threatened, and under such cir
cumstances the law allowed him to
carry weapona The evidence all in.
the lawyer arose with . book in his
hand and said: May 1t please your
honor. havo here a recent decision of
the supreme court in q case similar in
every way to this one, and the court
ordered the ucquittsl of the defendant
Then I'll overrule the supreme
court an fins the defendant fifty dollars
and costa
'Once q civil case was tried by Dem
son, in which two lawyers were en-
Iployed- When the evidence was all in.
the attorneys held brief consultation
to decide upon the order in which they
should speak. As the FIRST one rose to
address the court, benson cut him short
by saying: Now you fellows just wait
till decide this case an then you can
spout law all day II you want to-
Migrants Of all degrees, and every
man charged with q criminal offense
who was not able to pay fine, benson
would sentence TO terms Of hard labor
on his farm.
when asked once for an explanation
of such unwerranted proceedings, his
reply was that the law allowed him
costs IN every case no tried. and. IL a
man had no money, how was the court
10 get tho cost II he didn't work 1t out?
TO this logical opinion there was no
Fcply. and no ono ever interfered with
the judge afterward.
1.-The redeeming features Of Judge
Dcnson's remarkable administration OF
Justice was that he usually managed to
get at the truth Of u case. and never
allowed any legal tcchnicalities to in
fuence his decisions II . man was
guilty he was punished in some way,
and II innocent he was discharged.
True. the Judge decided great many
cases over which the laws of tho state
gave him no Jurisdiction. and IN many
ways NJ violated the letter Of the stat
utss. but - his decisions were usually
Just from moral ssandpoint, they were
allowed to stand.
Several times dissatisfied parties TO
civil suits and lawyers called the stten-
ton of the governor or the grand jury
TO Denson's method Of doing business.
but every Investigation resulted in a
sindication for the Judge Once he
was called before o grand jury and
asked IL he knew what law WA
Yes he answered. Law Il . lot Of
stuff put in books by lawyers to keep
honest people out Of their rights
The jury thought this definition
was % naAx tia truth that they allowed
The judge 70 60 After eighteen years
seryice he declined 30 accept the off3co