The herald., 1895-06-27
THURSDAY. JUNE ~. 1905
CONTEMPT OF COURT PRACTICALLY
UNIVERSAL

Ju6ge CLARK says that contempt of
court consists IN an attempt by deceit
to set in motion the machinery of the
court and SO involve some consid derable
public expense"
Assuming tIis to be correct, we have
only to examine the records and judg
ments of our American courts to find that
thsir power is constantly being invoked
through various deceits and at some pub
lie expense to commit or to defend
wrong.
There is scarce case brought before
our courts where deceit and wrong are
not found on one side or the other, and
found improperly seeking to use the
power OF the court for wicked ends.
In the particular deceit of feigning in
sanity it is notorious that our court ma
chinery is frequently used or sought to be
used by such feignlng to escape from
the consequences of open and bloody
crimes
A.deceit to commit a wrong by judicial
power. such as is in constant attempt be-
fore our courts in civil cases; deceit to
cover outrageous and open crime, must
be contempt if reporter indirect de-
ceit to perform public service practical
ly impossible without it, is contempt.
Delays and technicalities are in daily
use in both civil and criminal practice to
defeat the ends of Justice. In civil cases
it is the open and notorious policy of the
large corporations to use these means to
prevent answering for Determinations in
service or for criminal carelessness
against things or persons. Court delay
is a generally considered element in fore
ing compromises on persons injured in
any way by corpo rations.
So as to criminals; wealthy criminal
in this country can and does postpone
escapes it altogethr.
Even those with small means secure de-
lay and postponement on teohnicalites
until their crimes are forgotten. Our
American courts are pre-eminent
throughout the civilized world in permit
ting,these gross and general abuses of
their methods.
At last the fne-spun technical points
of law intended to protect the innocent
have become the most potent means of
protecting the criminal.
A civil case may be carried from court
to court and at last after long delay,
amounting often to denial of justice
come before the supreme tribunal to be
decided on trifling technicalty, as in
our railroad tax cases, that in no wise
touches the merits of the case or determ-
ines the real issues involved.
There are contempts of court constant
ly committed by attorneys, mem bers of
the court. in their use Of court powers to
permit wrong or to prevent punishm ent
for doing wrong.
The use of technicalities in the decision
of great cases and the relief from the PEN
alties of dreadful crimes upon petty re-
finements OF words. upon legal bubbles
and upon nonstrous abuse of interim
Unable delays, are injuring society and
bringing our courts dangerously near the
limits of public confidence.
All these methods are strung out to the
most extreme point of tenuity against So
ciety and the public good. They neve
seem to be stretched to protect public in
terests nor to enforce tho punishment of
criminals, even though these he taken
red-banded in their crimes.
If the prompt and savage penalty in
ficted by a Republican Judge upon a
Democratic newspaper reporter for at
tempting to use court process to end
any existing abuse in public institution
is to open new era i'll securing an abb
olition of court delays, that alone will
compensate The Herald many times over
for the blow it has received from local
court for trying to do good and end the rule
of corrupt and incompetent political
rings.