The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-02-16
REPORTERS RIGHTS AGAIN.

While claiming no erudition The
Star would venture to point out that
publicity in legal matters is the true
safeguard of proper judiciary proceed
ings. \ layman can only fall back
upon the fundamental historical pre-
cedents, he knows not of all the turns
and bubbles of the law. From the
simple rule of common sense, the law
has built up an ENHANCEMENT which
few can untangle. 4 decision is given
by one court and undone by the next,
with Mr.. Justice So-and-So dissenting,
but the defendant suffers the penalty
of the law in spite of the dissenting
Justice. The latter writes a learned
decision, which will be quoted from in
the future and may win some one
else's case.
The history of law in Rome is emf
nently to the point. At first the law
was such a sacred thing that it was
confided to the Patricians only, and
an unfortunate Plebian was tried and
condemned by his Judges without
knowing under what statute he was
condemned. That was when the Com
tia of the Cures held full sway, a dis
tinctly patrican assembly. Finally,
under the Republic, the Plebians
forced the Patricians to open the por-
tails of the law and a written law,
known as the twelve tables became
the magma charta" of the citizens.
BY this time there were also two adj
ditional popular assemblies II appeal
to, viz: the Comtia of the Centuries,
founded upon wealth, and the Comitia
of the Tribes, founded upon what
would now be called manhood suf-
frage. From the decision of the Mag
istrates there was always an appeal to
these Assemblies. 1t is perfectly plain
that the proceedings of all the Courts
must be open, for the ultimate appeal
was open, and the appeal was not, as
with us, upon abstract points of law,
but the evidence was laid before the
Assembly and the witnesses examined
DtloTt lntlll. IT vas DCiOlt lilt
assembled to do justice that Cicero and
Hortensus Numbered some of their
most stirring and Hottest periods, and
some of the cases thus investigated
were by no means of highly moral
character All kinds of cases were
brought up and investigated before
these tribunals, from embeZzlement to
crimes against the sovereign power,
and among them is distinctly men
toned "adulteria." One has only to
look at Muncakzy's celebrated picture
of Christ before PLATE, which is his
torically correct, to see how open a
Roman Court was.
Coming down to the founders of our
own race, it is found that the original
courts were held in the open air, under
some sacred tree, where all the tribe
might hear the evidence and see the
plaintiff and the defendant. Among he
Frisians, of equal antiquity with the
time of Charlemagne, the seventh ar
ticle of the code claims, free speech
seat"
1t is no use to multiply examples
The whole tendency of human thought
has been TO establish open courts
Closed courts are not what any con
stitution intended. With changed
manners, when we no longer call a
spade "a spade, but use an euphemisu
instead, it may be wise, in the inter
ests of morality, to get rid of those
who are present from simple curios
ity, though it is even doubtful wheth
er that proceeding does not com,
under Shakespeare's words "to do
great right, do little wrong" Blu
undoubtedly if you sweep out the cur
ious you should retain those who g,
not from curiosity, but as men doing
their daily duty. Such men are the re
porters of the press. The general o
an army can no longer keep reporter
from his headquarters, and he mus
be, by the nature of things, more auto
cratic than it is the right of tn
judiciary to be.
JAPANESE TIP \DE NNn NNNEN 4