The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1893-09-01
A Judge as is a Judge.

1t may, we suppose, be taken for
granted that most men can tell a fun.
, ny story or two about curious decis-
ions rendered by judicial officers in
one place or an other. The early
mining camps were prolific of such
yarns. Up at Sacramento justice
once had before him two men charged
with assault and battery. 1t appear
ed that during quarrel on the sire ct
one man picked up stone and threw
it mt the other, who ducked his head
and it went through costly plate
glass window. The justice decided
that as the evidence clearly showed
that the stone was we'll aimed il would
not have reached the window unless
| the man at whom it was thrown had
lowered his head, he should pay the
! damages, amounting to 1925, and that
the other, being guilty only of com
mon assault in which no bodily injury
was done, would satisfy the law by
paying a ten-dollar fine! The decis-
ion strikes one as funny because of its
respect for logic-the Justices logic.
But for cool audacty and for utter dis
regard of judicial Obligations, there
came to our editorial sanctum the
other day a hyperion Sudge's decision
that fairly takes the breath away. 1t
appears at length in the Vacaville Re-
porter Of 22d of July last, and is sign
ed, "a. J. Buckles, Judge of the SUI
peror Court of Solano County, Cal.
1t appears that in the Cou lty Govern.
ment Bill which passed last session
the Legislature placed Solano County
in lower classification than its town
constables and other officials like tn
see it IN. The classification was one
of great moment to them, rs il involv'
ed Il sixty-six per cent difference in
their salaries. The law was clear and
mandatory against them, but they evil
IDENTIFY thought a courthouse ring
was not worth belonging to unless they
could get around an insignificant OBJ
stable OF that kind, and got around it
ina manner alike simple and audAci
Jus. There is no indirection OF
ttraining at II gnat and swallowing q
cimer about the business ut all. The
judge went direct to the root of the
ngtter, repealed the act of the Legs
lituTP, anu lTdtllCu u new one W sui
himself! For the benefit of the in
credulous reader, we give Judg,
Buckles exact words, as follows:
"For the reasons herein stated, tn,
mistake made by the Legislature i.
hereby corrected, so that the first elias.
named in Sub Is OF Section l75 of thu
Act Of March Odd, 1893, shall read
thus: In townships having popula
ton of 1000 and more, one hundred
dollars We had supposed that i
was the sworn duty of Superior Judg
es to enforce the law as they find i
upon the statute book, and tojudge O
the intentions Of the Legislature by
, what it says in uneqnivocal language
But then we did not know Buckles
r nor comprehend the hunger of tn
court-hou.e ring around him. II
mad to stand in with those who stoot
in with him in the past, and VIII
! must needs stand in with him in tn
future or he will cease to be Judge
= We sometimes think that we get fe,
pretty tough judges in the city, bu
3 the worst OF them are not "in it" wit
certain OF the COW county kind. Non
S Of our men have as yet undertaken L
= repeal and enact laws to suit then
selves. But who knows what the
5 may venture to do in the face Of thi
S Solano county precedent.-San Fran
cisco News Letter.