St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-05-21
The New Constitution


mental law
In order to prevent the Governor
from using his powers to re-elect
himself, the new Constitution pro-
vides that he cannot be his own
successor. This is most import
ant provision, and will insure the
State against bad appointments
being made in order to obtain politi-
cal support.
The members Of the General As
sembly will receive Eve dollars
per day, an increase Of one dollar,
but the expenses Of each session
are carefully guarded and fixed at
a moderate limit.
In the Judicial department will
be found the principal changes.
Ten Judges of the Courts Of Appeal
are dispensed with, thus saving
forty thousand dollars per annum.
The District Judges will be assigned
to duty BY the Supreme Court, and
will act as Judges Of the Courts Of
Appeal. This change will take
effect after the expiration Of the
terms of present Judges.
The District Courts are increased
in number and reduced in ssla-
ries. The Districts are made small,
so as to provide for continuous
terms of court for ten months each
year. The Judges are required to
sit alternately in the different par
ishes Of their districts, as the pub
lie business may require. Salaries
are graded from $4,000 to $4,000
and $4,000, according to the size Of
the districts. All misdemeanors
are tried by the Judge without .
Jury. Cases where the punishment
is not necessarily at hard labor, by
. jury of five. Cases where the
punishment must be at hard labor,
by Jury Of twelve, nine Of whom
may bring in a verdict. Cases
where the punishment is death or
Imprisonment for life, by jury Of
twelve, who must find unanimous
verdict.
Their appellate jurisdiction is in
creased so as to embrace all cases
in Justices Courts. Cases where
fine is imposed by Mayor, or
a Recorder, or where a peace bond
is imposed by a Justice Of the
Peace, may be appealed to the
District Court, where the trial is
to be de novo and without q jury.
Misdemeanors are to be tried at
any time, by the District Judge,
even in chambers.
Grand Juries serve for six
months, and may be called to-
gether whenever the Judge sees iit.
The number of Grand Jurors is re-
duced from sixteen to twelve.
Thus it will be seen that all
cases are insured . speedy trial.
Instead of the criminals being
boarded in the parish jails for
months, this great expense will be
saved; mistrials will be rare, be-
cause Of the small number OF jurors
required to bring in a verdict. No
jurors will be required to hang
around the Courthouses awaiting
the trial of petty offenses; the
Judge will be able TO try = dozen
such cases in a day. No guilty
man will escape conviction, and
it will be possible to enforce the
laws against the minor oftenses
without trouble or delay.
The reduction Of the number Of
Grand and Petit Jurors will also
save much expense. A review Of
the statement of the criminal ex-
penses of the parishes shows how
enormous they were under the old
system. In some parishes they
amounted to over $50, 900 per year.
In st. Tammany the criminal ex-
penses of last year exceeded $4,000,
and in Washington they exceeded
$4,000. At least half these amounts
can be saved by competent Judge,
under the new system.
The civil business will also be
expedited. Cases may be finally
tried within a month from the
service Of citation.
It is well known that under the
old system criminal could post
pone his trial for years. Every
day that criminal case can be
postponed increases the chances of
the prisoner. Witnesses move
away or die, the public forgets the
dead, the prosecution becomes
cold, and at last there is an &C
quittal. The laws delays have
caused many lynchings. If the
public felt satisfied that Justice
would be speedy, it would let the
law take its course and avenge the
crime.