The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-10-31

.."..-D
hall 4 century ngo, no poke ~ tine eaae
OF preparing causes now that We have
railroads in every direction, tyne-
writers, atenosraphera etc 10 would.
recommend rfulel twice q month, az
Is the ease Ia Virginia now. re said.
The hasty mauner IN which clefkA pre-
pRre the Papers toa auit should moi 20
tolerated. more method "a needed IN
the Offices OF court clerks. TITO desnl'
tory, unma,hodical manner ~ which
deposihons are taken, was referred 20
and was said 70 be tue eauae3ok the
frequent continuance Of caaagi thare
should be- restrictions as 10 th5i iaking
Of deposltiona before the trial, Several
detects in the alate laws RELATIVE 70 pre-
pairing Of causes were reteIrtdtp One
dlaienlly in securing wanted leglslation
Ia the TACT that the legislative sessions
are so busy that unlesa bills ara pre-.
pared beforehand they stand noehoW
to be acted uhon. He Mked that the
mAtleFS he had referred to DO eonsid'
cred by the s%ssoeiatipn,a COMMITTEES on.
judicial reform, Bills for pFesanta,
ton at the next session OF the legia'
latuFe should DO prepared,
The discussion was opened by Mr., y,
D. Ewing, Of Wheeling, In the absenee
OF Mr.. James R. MenageE OF Point
Pleasant. He said Mr.. Poundstone had
told OF the Tut but had given no way OF
getting out Of IL. He claimed that even.
under the present law there IL no reason
for the delay in bringing causes 70 trial
The lawyers can usually bring the case
to decision quickly by plain statements
on both sides. Let the inertia OF the.
case be the main thingin view, Instead.
OF the iriyolouinesl that often obtains,
Mr. Higgilbctham spoke on the came
subject, aud corrected q false lmprss.
sion Of Judge Ewing's, that no remedy
had been suggested by ML Poundstone,
He had suggested q remedy-tWo rules
days instead OF one.
Judge jacobs, Of New Martinsville,
next spoke on tue matter. He was con-
seryative and did not care TO take
chances. Whatever reforms are really
needed must mt be sought In the
elerk's Office; tho present sya!om has
worked well. Regarding rules days, he
had a hobby. q movable rules day, one
for each cause. However, he concluded,
nobody really suffers much from the
laws delay.
Judge Holt, Of the Kipgwood circuit
was the next speaker. He had had
greater trouble with cases thai have
not maturad than with those that have
matured. He had had experience In
forcing maturity ofScauses and related
II, asking II the court had not the
power 10 hasten matters. he had not
thought It necessary to secure legiala-
tive enactmentst for what had been done
MI. Forrest w. Brown, Of Charles
Town. read the next paper, on "Our
Statutes relating to criminal cases.g
He made compatlsons OF ancient and
modern criminal Law, tracing the var.
ious changes down to the present time.
Originally might was right, aud under
such banetul conditions, q very bad sit
uation of affairs was brought about.
There was no need oil court, judge or
jury; the kings will backed up,
by force was supreme. In those
early days there were no legal
safeguards 10 life and property. De.
iects remain to-day that come from
the crude conditions and monarchial
institutions OF the past. The period oil
Saxon England when the great Alfred
was king was referred to, and the.
growth OF liberty up TO the present was
traced In eloquent terms. The Nesent
condition Of affairs in America was
spoken Of. and the speaker hold that the
trial by Jury Ia moro a test ot tne liberty
We enjoy Than anything else. The sys.
ten has stood the trials OF over one;
hundred years., and 1t is perlipeRt 10.
INQUIRE into It's present condition. Sta:
tisiics were quoted showing that
in late years the %lynchings out
number judicial hangings. Race feeling
in the south has been said to be the
cause of this deplorable fact, but there
are imperfect points In the judicial ays-
tenn that are responsible for the delays
in melting out justice. which encourage
the taking OF the law into their own
hands by tile people. These were.
mentioned by the speaker. He spoke
Of the opinion OF q supreme court jus.
tice, who held that In criminal practice
the decision OF the first court OF ttlal
should be final, aud there should be no
appeal; the jury, he claimed, could DO
better trusted than Judges OF higher
courts. The country ha, been blessed
with Judges who have kept the ermine
clean aud unsullied, but 1t 10 10 be
feared that some day the royertal OF
Jury yordicts by Judges Of higher courts,
Influenced by some centralized power,
will bring forcibly to the attention Of
the neople the fact that the power Of
the jury has been u%surped.
Mi. John A. Howard, Ohio couuty's
prosecutor, opened the discussion. De.
lays and miscarriagea in criminal JUS
tice, he claimed, are by Ho.called auir.
guards oil tho citizen that render tho
conviction Of the criminal almost i'm.
possible. Why not limit thejury. 70 a
question OF fact; II q verdict Of mot
guilty. Is giyon where law aud evidence
call for guilty. why should not the
Judge DO empowered 10 aet 1t aside.
There had been too much reform In
criminal law go much reform that 1t is
difficult 10 convict the criminal.
Uol. Atnelt was determined not to al.
low "theaa Two prosecuting attorneys
10 have their own way" lilo did not
agree with them. 1t seemed TO him,
from his limited experience, that the
prisoner always has tho hard side OF 1t.
Tho prisoner gotB protection, no more
than he ID entitled TO. He had not
known tho law to go aEtray in dealing
with the criminal. Certainty more
than celebrity 10 desirable. He hold the
lynchings, referred to, arc more tho re-
sult Of public excitement and not the
fault Of the law.
Prosecutor McGary, Of Lewis coun'
", did not RQcoe with lie fellow proae-