Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1896-02-20


appeal as a ground for a new trial.
They must at once point out the
error to the trial judge, that he
may correct it. Otherwise the
courts afford no remedy.
"The-learned judge refers to the
action of the department in confess
sing error as most unprecendent-
ed.' On the contrary, there is a
recent well known precedent in an
Indian Territory murder case,
where Attorney General Miller
and Solicitor General Taft con-
fesed error in the case OF Cook, 13S
U. s., 157, and their action was
approved by the supreme court.
That court is greatly overworked
and far behind hand with its cal
endar To take up its time by
submitting cases where the trial
Judge has crearly erred would be a
needless injury to suitors who are
waiting for their cases to be reach
ed. Furthermore, it involves a
great waste of government funds.
Unlike most all the other
judges, Judge Parker habitually
sends up i'll every case transcript
of the stenographer's minutes of
the trial, containing every word
uttered on the trial by counsel,
court or witness. Nearly the
whole of it is in every case imma-
terial. This practice is also con-
trary to the rules of the supreme
court and is condemned by the
rules of almost every other court.
1t involves enormous printing ex-
penses and an annual exhaustion
of the appropriations and consti-
tutes an extravaganza amounting
almost to a scandal. The convicts
are poor and the government al
most always has to print the re-
cords at a cost of hundreds of dol
lars TO each case. There is one
record lying on my desk contain
ing nearly 1,500 pages. Several
others besides this are being held
while considering the propriety of
confessing error. Error is never
confessed except after careful con-
sideration of the question, by the
solicitor general, as well as by At
torney- General Dickinson and my
self, and never except in a very
clear case. A confession of error
does bind the supreme court.
which may order the case to be
argued. In these three cases the
confessions have been approved.
Every effort has been made
by this department to obtain COR
rect statements of the law from
Judge Parker, in order 10 avoid
these continual reversals. The
district attorney has been instruct
ed. when the judge commits error,
to present to him correct PROPOSE
tions of the law and request him to
charge them, in order that the er-
ror may be cured. The district
attorney reports that his requests
are denied by the judge on the
ground that he has already fully
charged. If the learned Judge con-
fined himself 10 a terse statement
of the law applicable to the case
before him, | think that he would
make few mistakes
The law in murder cases is
simple and easily understood. The
point upon which the case is sub
mitted to the jury is generally sin
gle and one that can easily be
stated with clearness. Judge Par
ker, however, in every case goes
into long disquisition upon the
whole law of homicide, largely
drawn from ancient law books and J
with considerable attempt at elo-
quence, especially of the denun-
ciatory kind His style is very |
obscure and sometimes metaphy-
steal, but always elaborate. In
one case on my desk his charge /
20 large aud closely type |
written pages where five pages |
would have been ample. His Gus
tom of charging the jury upon the
whole law of homicide, instead of
restricting himself to relevant
questions is admitted by the Judge |
himself. | quote from an opinion |
filed by him in the Hickory case,
which is one of those as to which |
he complains so bitterly against
the supreme court.
"Now, it is said that the charge
is abstract. That means, of course
legally speaking. that it asserts
that have no relevancy
TO the case. That is what abstract
means. A concrete principle of
The law is a principle that is rel
practice has grown up here OF the
court giving to the jury every prin-
ciple that IS involved, whether
hat principle is an abstract prin.
ciple or not; or whether it may
urn out to be abstract. That is a
question left to them for determi-
nation
ave have little difficulty in sus-
aiming tie judgment of other
Judges in murder cases, and | be-
ieve that no other judge has found
t necessary to write open letters
abusing the supreme court. The
continual mistrials before Judge
Parker are the more TO be deplored
because in most cases the prison
,rs are probably guilty and would
lave been convicted if the court
lad submitted the case with the
Iery barest statement of law of
murder and without any denunci-
ltion or attempt to usurp the jury
unctions.
Judge Parker complains that
hese cases are not orally argued
n thu supreme court. This is be-