The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-25
SUPREME COURT LAW
Amendments Proposed by the
Bar Committee.
WILL MAKE APPEALS CHEAPER.
The Bill Provides for Transmitting
Original Papers-Printed Briefs
Optional.

The committee appointed by the Bar
Association. consisting of John +. Hum
phries, X. Fl. Lindsay and T.. II. Wheeler,
to prepare bill on the subject Of appeals
TO the supreme court and report it to the
Bar Association on December 81, 1892, for
It's approval or rejection, has, the bill pre-
pared and ready for submission. The
committee has adopted as basis for the
bill the present law upon the subject, and
has amended numbers of the sections and
inserted new ones.
The first principle changed is in section
2, where it is provided that the sureties on
the appeal bond may be examined before
the supreme court as to their qualifica-
tons. either when the original bond is
filed or at any time when the respondent
may deem the bond insecure. Upon the
courts finding that the sureties are not
sufficient he may set aside the stay of exc
cution and allow appellant to file another
bond with sufficient sureties. Heretofore
the only remedy was to apply to the
superior court.
Section 10 of the act is also amended,
providing that all appeal bonds shall be
approved by the court. Sections IA, Is
and Ii have been dropped and a new Sec
ton Ia substituted, providing in substance
the same as the two sections dropped,
except that instead of a copy of the papers
the original papers will be bound together,
properly indexed. and certified to the
supreme court, thus saving the expense
to sitigants OF copying the papers on APP
peal The committee takes the ground that
the originals will answer the SOME purpose,
and at the same time there would be
no danger of their being lost or
destroyed in transmission to the supreme
court. The bill also provides that when
the case is finally disposed of in the SUI
preme court the original papers, with the
remitter. shall be returned to the court
from which the appeal was taken. This
section is the idea which Mr.. HUMPHREYS
embraced in his article read before the
Bar Association at Tacoma and which
was adopted by it. This section also pro-
vides that the appellant shall pay SIS to
the clerk for ihdexing. binding and GER
tifying the original record, this being all
the cost that is to be paid to the superior
court on appeal.
Sections 25 and rs have also been dropped
and new sections substituted. The new
section 25 provides for taking exceptions
and for filing bills of exceptions, specify
ing what is necessary to be done in the
bill of exceptions and the manner of set
thing the same. The new section % pro-
vldes for taking the case to the supreme
court upon reserved question Of law, and
making provision that the bill of excep-
tons need contain no more than is neces-
sary to present the exact question of law,
so as not to cucumber the record with any
other question than the one involved.
Section q has been amended by adding
that no assignment of error is necessary ex-
cept in the brief. thus qualifying the Sec
ton so that there can be no misunder-
standing as to its meaning.
An entirely new section has been in
serted (No. 2S). which embraces the idea
that has been advocated by one of the
members of the committee in regard to
the preparation of briefs for the supreme
court. This section provides tina. the case
shall remain in the clerks Office of the
superior court until all the briefs are filed
with the clerk; that after the briefs are
filed the record and briefs shall be trans
mitted to the supreme court. It also pro-
vides that the parties may file plainly
typewriter or printed briefs instead of
the rule which now requires printed briefs
alone. The expense now attending ap-
peals is the printing of briefs. Type
writing has become universal and a
plainly typewriter brief is sufficient, in
the minds of the committee, to present
the case to the supreme court. and the
litigants ought not to be taxed with the
additional cost, in all cases. Of furnishing
printed briefs. This section, together
with the new section H. will reduce the