The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-25
THE LAW AND
THE CULPRIT

The world is full of madness, deceit
and crime. The law of love is no
| longer the law of liberty. Human ne
cessities increase with advancing civil
ization and ambition to rule leads men
into excuses and crime until all re-
formatory and penal institutions are
crowded with criminals.
The administration of law is so I'M
certain that it has but little terror for
the offender. Crime is on the increase.
There is little protection to virtue and
no reward for honesty.
| This condition is most lamentable ana
cannot be changed, nor will the ma
| jesty of the law be respected until the
\ guilty are punished and public moral
sentiment is spared a cruel suspense.
Then justitia fiat might, with propri-
ETY., be placed upon the CANOPY over
shadowing the court.
The difficulties attending court pro-
cedures SO often witnessed do not ap-
pear to be alone occasioned by the de-
fects of the laws, but, rather, depend
upon the maladministration of the laws
and defiance of justice. In such cases
the punishment named in the law as
penalty for crime is set aside by spe-
|
errors which appear in the briefs, and
crime laughs in the face of justice and
defies the law.
A promise that is not kept creates a
distrust in it's integrity, and a case
which fails to make an application Of
| it's penalty should be taken from the
| code of criminal procedure, as 1t en-
courages the crimes it was made to
prevent. What can be more plain in
a forensic debate before the court than
the scholarly dignity which carries con-
viction to the minds of the jury upon
! the side Of justice in accordance with
the spirit of the law?
When, however, eminent pleadings
are made for the purpose of securing
| delay in accordance with the assump-
/ ton of law-aut ScriptuS aut non
then the people rise and declare yox
populi, vox Del, and then follow the
dangerous proceedings of summary
! punishment. 1t would be better to
| have ten guilty persons hanged than
| to have one innocent person suffer; but
the law says differently.
| When one commits homicide while
| drunk, as in the case of Rosser, and
| enters the plea of mot guilty. and
claims to be unconscious of the act at
| the time it was committed the queS-sE
| ton of responsibility will be taken sub
! JUDGE and occupy much of the val.
liable time of the court at a great ex-
! penSe to the State.
This is wrong in all ordinary cases
! of drunkenness, for it is only after a
! prolonged debauch, while one is suffer-
| ing from delirium tremens, that he
| fails to realize what he has done and
makes no effort to escape; but when
| one commits homicide in moment
| of acute drunkenness he at once at
tempts to get away, and If arrested
| will show an unconscious condition of
| his mind.
Should it be made to appear to a
jury that while drunk one is uncon-
scious Of what he is doing or has done
and is ignorant of the law, then the
old maxim, 'Ignorantia legis neminem
excusat," should apply to him until the
penalty of the law shall prevent a rep
etition of his offense.
! Even for his drunkenness he should
be punished for misdemeanor, for no
! one has a right voluntarily to make
| himself unconscious of any unlawful
act he may commit. Public morals re-
| quire- conscious rectitude of action
at all times, and the man who becomes
! Indifferent does not always become for
! getful of his duty to the public and
always knows the difference between
the bar and lunch table and never goes
to the latter for his drink.
Then, why should the courts be tri-
| fed with upon so simple proposition
as mental alienation in cases of hon1i-
eide during a fit of intoxication. ex-
| cept in known cases of mania a potu,
and why should public sentiment be
made to feel the injustice of the pro-
/ CeedingS in so many of the cases of
| criminal prosecution?
| AT times the errnine of the court
seems dragged in the nire and justice
weeps and retires before eloquent To-
rensic pleadings.
No experts need be called to tell the
| court and jury of the responsibility Of
the man who is drunk; common intel
| ligence and daily observation are bet
| ter interpreters of the effects of alco-
hol upon the mind than many Of the
books that are written upon the SUBJ
! ject. It has often occurred that a
witness has been upon the stand as an
| expert upon mental diseases who has
never had any practical experience and
| who knew far less of the subject than
the court, and possibly than some Of
the jury.
Such witness. on whichever side he
may testify, does more to defeat jus
tice than to promote the execution OF
the law for his mistakes are formu-
lated into spurious arguments to con-
fuse the jury so as to give the defend
ant the benefit of a doubt. To avoid
this error in the proceedings of crimi-
nal cases there should be a special COM
mission appointed. consisting of five
prominent members of the medical pro-
fession. who, besides having supervi-
sion over the State institutions for the
insane. should be known as State ex-
perts," whose duty as State officers
should be. when notice is served upon
them. to attend all trials when the
question of mental unsoundness is oc- .
cupying the attention of the court.
Then the criminal and the legatee
would have much fairer chance Of be-
ing dealt with in accordance with the
spirit of the law
Then there would be no nalingerfng
in "made-up" cases of epilepsy. and the
courts would not be interrupted by any
undignified and puerile attempts to
prove madness; justice would be done
and public sentiment would indulge Ia
the refrain, "Vox populi. vox Deli
WASHINGTON AVER.
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