The morning call., 1892-12-30
NEW POLICE COURT.
The Legislature to Be
Asked for One.
EASY COr1E AND EASY GO.
That Is Now the Style i'm the Magis-
trates' Tribunals-A Remedy
Needed.
EASY COr1E AND EASY GO.

Thequestion OF how to dis pose of the cases
that are overburdening the calendars of the
three police courts of this city is one
which the next Legislature will be asked TO
consider at the earliest possible moment for
the reascn that under the existing state of
affairs in many cases brought before the
Police Judges they find their hands tied
and the culprtS escape again aud again
the punishment they so richly deserve. ::
II is not the fault Of the Judges the Prose-
cutting Attorneys nor Of the clerks of the
court that this state of affairs exists. Ills
simply The result of having too many
criminals and too few courts.
To-day there are over 2e0 untried cases
on the calendar of Police Court /, go
untried cases on the calendar of Police
Court and nearly 500 untried cases Oh the
calendar of Police Court g.
OF these cases iuries have been demanded
in rs in Police Court /, for 120 in Police Court
and 30 odd cases in Police Court 8.
In other words the Judges cannot handle
the business, and innocent men and women.
suffer while guilty men and women escape
punishment in consequence.
The remedy, and the only remedy, lies in
the creation of an additional police court by
the Legislature 10 which shall be assigned
all jury trials, lana this is what the incoming
Legislature will be asked TO do, and that as
speedily as possible.
Every American citizen has right to
trial by jury of his peers if he or size so
elect, and the very people who have been
most frequently In the dock of the police
courts are the best Informed as to their
rights.
Take sample case and one, by the way.
which really occurred a few days ago. A
man beat and battered his wife until he
dlshguIed her horribly besides seriously in-
1urIng her. Unfortunately for the cOmmg-
nifty the human brute had money enoughto
hre lawyer and furnish bail. The wife
did not want TO prosecute the husband, but
the neighb0Fs did and they pushed the suit.
Inc mans attorney at once asked for
jury trial knowing that already upon the cal
endar OF the court in which the case was
called there was a jury trial set for every
Gay from January to April 10. 1898, with
from forty TO seventy new cases coming be-
lore the court every day. The idea was to.
postpone the trial until the anger Of the
neighbOrs had cooled off, TO have the wife
refuse TO appear and the case dismissed.
Such things are done not every day but
four or five, yes, ten times every day; all
because the courts are so crowded that
eases are postponed. put over, and contin-
ued until the prosecuting witnesses get
tired of coming to court, the Judge fOrgets
the circumstances Of the case and the cul-
prit goes free.
IL is not the Judges fault, but the fault
of there being too few courts, for there is
not Judge on the police bench in this city
who could clear his calendar and stars, even
IT he held court for tweaty-four hours a
day. for hundred days.
That Is how many of the guilty escape,
but lis poor rule that won't work both
ways, and the means of escape of the guilty
works hardship on the innocent. ~
In this way young man without friends
or money, who was stranger in
San Francisco, was arrested for petty
larceny, and for some reason not easy
To divine great desire to prosecute him
was manifested. He could not hire an at
forney nor could lie bail himself ou. lie
demanded a jury trial and spent four
mOnths in a foul ill-ven tilated, dark CITY
prison waiting for it. When at last his
case was called there was no one to prose-
cute.
The man established his inn ocence to the
satisfaction OF outsiders by Witnesses whom
he had summoned, but who had no chance
to testify.
All the satisfaction the poor fellow got
was tie fact that he had suffered four
months Imprisonment for an offense he.
never committed and went out into the.
world with an untried case.
Like the old Scotch verdict of ''not
proven" the poor fellows enemies will
always be able to say. You never proved
to any court your innocence Of the crime
charged"
The movement to have a fourth police
court created and have il especially for
jury trials is favored by Judges and attor-
neys. and rot only will it relieve the exist
ing courts OF the terrible burden of untried
eases they are now carrying, but it will
also mete out justice to the guilty and inno-
cent alike