The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-01-03
TO RELIEVE TIE COURT
Bench and Bar Interested in
Two Law Reform
Bills.

Visitors to our our of Common Pleas
have repeatedly called attention to
they have been pleased to term the ride
ulous spectacle of a presiding law judge
and two lay judges trying clothes line
fights and barroom brawls. Instead of
these being disposed of as they ought,
by the Police Magistrates, the time of
the Court of Common Pleas is consumed
by them, to say nothing of the trouble
and labor occasioned to the Public Pros
ecutor with these pettypan troubles. The
Police Magistrates cannot dispose of
petit larceny or assault and battery cases
under the existing statute, which circum-
scribes their powers and therefore they
must go before the upper court through
the medium of the Grand Jury.
Not only have outsiders criticized this
practice, but the occupants of the bench
themselves have often mad vigorous
denunciations of so useless and clumsy
a mode of procedure.
One of these gentlemen conversing up
on this very subject the other evening
with a News representative, observed
hat the Legislature ought to take up
this subject and pass a law giving police
justices the power to dispose of minor
cases of misdemeanor, petit larceny and
assault and battery. This would simplify
the work of the Court, the Prosecutor,
and save the time of the Grand Jury,
leaving it to do more important work
than voting to find a bill against Mrs.
O'Hoolihan for making faces at Mrs. Nc
Gee, or John Doe for stealing a ride on
a trolley car.
IT IRR1TATES THE LAWYERS.
There is another matter which I
think the Legislature ought to do some
thing with. ard that is the question Of
notice in regard to criminal trials" an
other lawyer present added.
He went on to say that lawyers in this
Hudson County are irritated to a con
siderable degree by the absence of any
notice by the Prosecutor when he pro-
poses to move any case for trial SO that
a lawyer has to dawdle about the court
room all day long perhaps waiting to
defend a petit larceny case, while more
important duties down town nave to be
put On one side.
1t seems that the Prosecutor does not
feel called upon to give any lawyer form
al notice of such and such a trial, and
the latter thinks he ought to be informed
at least two days prior so that he could
make arrangements.
LEGISLATIVE AID.
My remedy is this" continued this
lawyer IN am going to draft a bin
lature, making it obligatory on the part
of the Prosecutor to publish in the daily
papers at least two days prior to the
moving of any case for trial, the title of
the cause, so that we lawyers nay know
when to attend. As it is now, I'm blessed
if I know even If my case will come up
for trial at all on any particular day."
h remarks were not intended for any
criticism of the Prosecutors office, only
the system now in vogue is, it is claimed,
a nuisance, ard often not only creates
trouble for the lawyers, but entails ex-
pense to them In many ways. Besides it
will be a positive advantage to the de-
PENDANT who may be sure that his law
yer cannot offer the excuse for non-at-
tendance at his trial. hat he did not
know when the case would be called.
Since the lawyers, as usual, predomin-
ate in the Legislature, there is every pos
sibiiity that the law reform bills sug-
gested for the relief of the Court and
the lawyers practicing therein will go on
the Statute Book of 1895.