The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1898-10-27

| with trial for a crime.
! But it does this with the salary OF
the Judge of the Superior Court: He
has number of counties placed to his
circuit in which he is to hold court and
keep upwith the business. For this he
is paid a good salary. These city courts
, can take the work away from him that
he was paid to do, should he so direct
| it, and then he will be getting full pay
for the performance of only part of
his duties. The people are thus placed
| in the absurd situation of paying two
salaries-one to the Superior court
judge out of the state treasury, and
one to the city court judge out of the
county treasury for the same work that
the Superior court judge ought to, and
is paid to perform.
And it does another thing:
There is a provision in this Waycross
law by which at the option of plain-
tiffs in civil cases the business is taken
out of the hands of the Justice of the
Peace in the several districts of the
county, and the defendants, no matter
how unwilling they may be to do so,
and how far they live from Marietta,
are dragged here on Justice Court cases
to have their rights adjudicated in this
city court.
You elect your Justices of the Peace,
and your Notaries Public are appointed
upon your recommendation and from
your midst, and yet at the option of a
plaintiff you are taken away from these
home surroundings, it may be many
miles, and tried among comparative
strangers before judge appointed
most likely without any recommends
ton from you and by Governor who,
however honest he may be, knows lit
tie about the candidate and has little
time to investigate
This city court it is claimed will do
another thing-this is claimed as its
chief browning virtue:' 1t will greatly
increase litigation and put more money
in the pockets of the lawyers. 1t is
claimed for it that nearly all the law
yers are in favor of it, I have little
doubt about the business of this claim.
Plaintiffs cannot bring their civil suits
in this court without lawyer, as they
can and continually do in Justice
courts, and where all a prosecutor has
to do is to get into the tolls on the
criminal side of this city court is to
make affidavit, it is easy to see how
almost any trifiing difficulty would be
here instigated and business would
thereby be greatly increased.
Now, if the chief purpose to be ac-
complished in the administration of
county affairs is to increase litigation.
then by all means let's help establish
this city court. If it is a noble pur-
pose to create new offices and increased
expenses for the county, let's have it..
But, fellow-citizens, let us preserve the
maxim of Equal rights to all and
special privileges to nome" Often the
officers of these courts are picked out
and slated in advance and those who
are not of the elect are liable to be
left out in the cold, unless enough
courts are established to go around.
The law does not limit a county to
one city court, therefore let's have
enough established in this county to
give all of us judgeships who do not
prosecute or defend. Do this and there
will be variety of tribunals from
which you may select in bringing suit,
and from which defendants in criminal
cases may select the one least likely
to convict
If to increase litigation is desirable,
let's foster and build up blind tigers to
sources of lawsuits in the land.
Seriously speaking, can see no need
of this court. Our Superior Court is
open from the beginning of one year to
the next. Court is held about four
times year at which jury trials can
be had. The Jail is emptied as often
and continuously as any city court
could hope to do. The county expens-
es by reason of court work is at min
imum. lido not suppose there is
county in the state that in proportion
to wealth and population keeps better
up with all cases at less expense than
Cobb county.
Our taxes have grown larger and
larger until it takes about all one
makes to pay them, and l am satisfied
that the people are with me in object
ing to any further increase. With cot
ton at less than five cents per pound
any increase in taxes is inopportune
To get the people to tolerate this !
court it may be claimed that the
salary will be reduced greatly But let
not such allurements deceive you, for
Ultimately the salary will be raised to
its full size as the history of other city /
courts have shown, and when the court |
Is once established there is no way of |
getting rid of it under four years at
least
If the jail fees are two heavy or the
time between sueing and getting judg-
ment lin civil cases in the Superior !,
court is too far apart an ample and
complete remedy will he found in hav-
ing four or more terms of the Superior
court during the year instead of two.
The Constitution, paragraph 5849, says:
THE Superior courts shall sit in each
county not less than twice in each
year at such times as have been or
may be appointed by law" This gives
the law making power the right to
create as many terms as are necessary
to transact the business, and had
more terms really been needed in Cobb
| am satisfied that before this steps
would have been taken to get them,
without creating new offices and sala-
ries and new court.
But this is not all:
Our Code, paragraph 4345, provides I
that THE judges of the Superior courts
Of this state may, in their discretion.
hold adjourned terms of said courts in
every county within. their respective
circuits when the business requires it |