The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-03-05
LAW OVERRULED.
The Wooden Judges Of the Court
ofErrors Vote Against Their
Legal Brethren.
ONLY OXE LIKE INSTANCE on RECuRl
junction Railroad Against Pennsy
this TIme-A Demand to Be
Made to Abolish the Wooden
Men,.


There is a great sensation in legal
circles today. which TO the lawyers not
directly interested in the case, lass its
comical side. In case before the Court
OF Errors and Appeals az Trenton yester-
day five OF the lay or wooden Judges, as
they are irreverently called. outvoted the
law Judges In q case of great import
ance
The junction Railroad was projscted
for the purpose Of connecting all the rail-
roads in the county. and to run from the
West Shore Railroad yards at weehaw-
ken to the National Docks Company's
piers on Black Tom Il now extends
pom tne west shore yards to the
old Point Of Rocks. When tie road
reached the Pennsylvania road f<&Hom-
pany applied to Judge Knapp for COM
missioners to condemn q right OF way
across the new yard which the Psnnsy[
yania Company made by leveling Of
Mount Pleasant aud fIlfne IN the hollow
between the mount and the hill.
COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED.
Judge Knapp appointed the Commis-
sioners and at the same time he allowed
the Pennsylvanla people a writ OF GER
tiorari 10 take the case to the Supreme
Court for review. The case was ARMED
before the Supreme Court where It main
tanned that the junction road had no
right TO cross its yard, fnasmuch as the
yard was property which had already
been condemned for railroad Purposes
The Pennsylvania also claimed that the
Junction road should go over or under its
tracks. aud showed how in the plan
Of lis yard IL had made provision
for the junction road to 20
under the track The suprems
Court set aside the condemnation pro-
ceedings, holding that the junction Com
pany had no right to determine the man.
ner in which IL should cross, that this
proceedings before Judge Knapp were
too uncertain as to the description Of the
property IL proposed 10 take and that the
land it sought TO condemn was not set
forth In the right OF way 1t filed with the
Secretary of State.
The junction road then took the mat
70 the Court Of Errors and Appeals,
where it was argued at the last June
term by Ex-Governor Bedle and James b.
Nredenoerg for the Pennsylvania Com
pany, and Aessrs- Dickinson and Thomp-
son for the junction people.
The argument was listened to
by Chancellor McGiii, Chief Justice
Beasely and Justices Van Syckel and
Dixon ana Lay Judges Whitaker, Glenn
ent. Patterson, Brown and Cole. Justices
Depue and Van Syckel were i'll at the
time and the other four Justices could
not sit as they had considered the matter
in the Supreme Court
TIE LAW JUDGES PARALYzED
The Chancellor read an opinion ysster
day in which he sustained the decision OF
the Supreme Court upon what was con-
sidered sound law by his law col
leagues. When the vote was taken
the law branch Of the court was almost
paralyzed to find the wooden judges vot-
ing solidly TO reverse. As the vote Of
each member of the court, whether law
or lay counts the same, the Suprema
Court and the Chancellor were overruied
by vote of 5 TO L The wooden men fled
no opinion nor gave any reason for their
decision.
The court this morning decided to hold
the record and granted counsel for the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company an or
der permitting them TO apply for q re-
hearing. The occurrence is the one topic
OF conversation among lawyers today,
and will lead TO an energetic movement
TO abolish the wooden judges.
THIS is the second time only in the his
tory Of the State where the wooden
judges have taken the law in their own
hands and voted against their legal
brethren.