New-York tribune., 1896-06-02
CPTTTCJSU or .UDGES.

CRITICISM or JUDGES.
Indigo Cowing. while charging the Grand jury
Yesterday in the Court Of General Sessions. re-
fcrrcd pontcdly to some recent criticisms "'
his conduct. and took occasion to lay down GER
tain radical propositions concerning the p"p''
and ,h. Eench ..IIe who assails the judiciary
said the Judge becomes disturber ot the
Drubllc peace and order and * an enemy Of our
Government. Such n man should be regarded
"as n pirate Woe betide him or her or them
who undertakes 10 attack the Judiciary
This is n proposition that II is worth while
To examine Every otlicehodcr considers crit
IcIsm ~ his action as an attack upon MS ONCE.
so thoroughly does he identify his personality
with acquired dignity. That Is the natural con
ccit of mnn. and the natural d"Sir" TO grasp
all advcntiflots aids when In trouble common
alike 10 Judge and layman II was the spirit
which led former Recorder to speak of IN"
public dsapproval Of his course manifested III
the polls as step toward anarchy. II was III
this spirit that Jenreys ran his Infamous career
In the English circuit. that George III set OUT
10 r.press opposition 10 his American policy
that the present Kaiser st"rnly rcpress"- the
smallest criticism of his course. II Is relic
of IN. theory OF divine right which the world
over pufrs up men clothed with littl" br't
authority To regard themselves as wiser ara
better than their fellows The policeman shows
il when h. puts on bullying manner with his
shield Tn" political boss shows II when he
snecrs What are you going 10 do about It!
The Judge shows It when he becomes the rrith-
br despot infinitely sensitive to eyidenc" Of
contempt of court The Emperor shows ii
when he rcvives laws against l"ze maJesty.
Now let n IL. conccdcd that courts should be-
treated with respect Judges must bc above
personal influences and pr"Judicrs aud fro'
from III" sway ~ popular clamOr An honest
and independent Judiciary Is II prerequisite 10
good government everywhere But that IL
something very different from conc"iing 10
Judges divine attributes regarding them as too
sacred for criticism. and leaving them 10 do
good or III without scrutiny of their action 10y
those Who created them and Who's" servants
they are II l. no dsr.spect To ludg" 'owing
io say that Judges have been corrupt In this
and other countries II has been necessary Ia
watch them we'll ~ other officers Some OF
them have been seen 10 protect criminals and
10 iak" brlbrs. and people have first talked
/ about them. even "assailcd' and attacked
/ them aud hualls imp"achcd and removed them
! That j. pr"rogative which the citizens reserve
/ 10 Themselves In all eases. Judge Is Il man
/ Ike other men He Is selected by the people.
from among the people. 10 discharge certain
/ definite duties He Is entitled 10 personal re-
/ spccl. and a chnnc" 10 do his duty frarlessly
! and have the orders Of hs court obryed. Those
ar" his rights. and there Il no disposition To
] dispute them Hut some Judges are not content
with this Sometimes they regard seat Oh
| the bench ~ Louis XIV regarded seat on the
throne They become dIctatorial In manner.
violent Of temper and cnpricous In official con
duct Dignity too strcnuously asserted makes
itself undicnIhcd
! Whatever Representative Judges may think.
The Bench will have exactly the respect which
il deserves The lawyer who on being unjustly
fined said hr had not shown half the contempt
Of court that the Court itself had shown ut
tered II profound truth n we'll as n witty re-
tort. our Judges are In general treated with
the greatest consideration. and they have de
served II. Both State and United States courts
have maintained II high place in public conf
dcnce. and their decisions have met with rc
! spcctful acqulrscence even when they ran
counter to public opinion and conscience When
| individual Judges have been criticised il has
generally been when they themselves gave
grounds for IT, Judg" Cowing il himself case
| III point. For years decent people have fought
policy shops in spite Of Indifference and even
| opposition. from the police and in the District
Attorneys office Finally the Policy King
was put on trial The went 10 the jury and
when they had had only two hours dellbernt ion
Judge Cowing discharged them and declared
II mstrial without serious effort to force nm
! agreement. Al that time the Jury stood ten Il
! two for conviction. The defendant later plead
| cd guilty before another Judge and escaped
| with fine II would be harsh to say that such
action Oh the part Of Judge opened him to
suspicion. but In view Of the peculiar political
conditions Of this town-the influence Of the
policy men. the methods Of distributing court
patronage. the relations cpcnly existing be
| tween officials nOminally OF opposing parties
! the general desire for better enforcement OF
law and the notorious difficulty In securing 1t
Judge Cowings conduct was fairly open to
scrutiny whether II was good or bad II a citI
zen thought It bad. lndviscI or partial 1,
was his right to say 80. provided he made hon
eat criticism on facts known to him and did
not circulate ISLANDERS.
Judge 'owing may be conceded to be th,
ablcst and most honorable man ever on IN
| American bench without granting that n citi
zen may not examine his official actions scruti
ion on them. He Is good citizen who is thus
vigilant and not pirate" There have beer
bad men OH the bench who were detected h,
! watching AS Burke said mt the trial of War