The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-06-28
AT The LAST TERM HERE
INDIFFERENCE AND INCOMPE-
TENCY THE CAUSE
NO JUDGMENTS YET WRITTEN
And not Even the Minutes of the Court have
been Written up.Some Startling
Facts from the Record.

tho Eastern district of North Carolina
go. Int little more than Il judicial farce.
If t,kcs the smartest and most compe-
tnnt prosecuting attorneys TO make any
District court. where TRIVIAL revenue
cases are heard, pass muster as cred
table judicial proceedings. and when
these court officials are rs incompetent
as those now representing the govern
mont in his district, the sessions of the
court hardly rise to the dignity Of judicial
bearings.
For two weeks the farcical proceedings
of the last court held in Raleigh have
bnen openlv discussed by men of iii
nartic4 in Raleigh. The News and OBJ
server has rcfrained from making COM
mcnt because it has desired to glNe
ample time for Il general discussion OF
these matters and for men Of all parties
to express themselves before 1t turned on
the lights and revealed the facts rs they
really existed.
The last term of the United States
District court for the Eastern district
of North Carolina cost the United States
government. according to Mr.. j. i. For
tune. lHt 'Itih VI iIt ~ ~ ~ 49,
borhood of $1,000.
There were ont Of more than W hun
dred cases dockcted five vcrdicts Of
guilty. The most serious one of theS"
was the Robinson case. and he was sen
fenced to Il term of eighteen months.
Their were seven defendants who plead
ed guilty nearly all of whom got off with
the m of a small fine and the
costs. There were eighteen jury acquitalS-
The remainder of the cases were either
mol pressed or continued.
So the five convictions cost the govern
ment lust one thousand dollars Il piece.
OF course there was Il large number
called and failed and judgments nj 81.
and judgments absolute were entered.
neither O. which in min cases out of ten
ever amount to anything. Besides. up to
yesterday not Il Judgment had yet been
written. 1t is customary for the Dis
trict Attorney to write up his judgments.
fix up all his papers and get his records
all in shape Immediately after the adj
iournment of court. This time. so says
Clerk Fortune, District Attorney Der
nard left Raleigh with instructions 20
Assistant District Attorney Spears to
write up the judgments and fix up the
records. But Spears left without writ
ing or indicting a line, and so the papers
are all. or. they were. up to yesterday,
just like they were when court adjourn
e more than two weeks ago.
Not an execution issued and not ever
a capias issued. and what's more, not
even the minutes of the court written up.
These two prosecuting attorneys had
on their docket ninety-Sevcn new cases
and over Il hundred cases that had been
continued from former terms of tho
court. They kept the grand jury in ses-
sion nearly two weeks and sent eighty
six. bills of Indictment. FOrty-five of them
were returned mo true bills
They tried twenty-three cases from the
old docket and the new docket. eighteen
of which We're returned mot guilty" a
few cases were mol pressed. One plea
of mol contender was filed. Seven defend
ants pleaded guilty. and as stated. there
We're five convictions. Now" as Il gen
tlemdn remarked. ''thOSa seven. who
pleaded guilty. are kicking themselves be-
cause they did not stand trial and get
acquitted.''
IF we may take this term of the Fed
eral court as Il criterion.'' remarked Il
prominent Republican yesterday. "thc
final summary of Eastern North Caro-
lima prosecutions would be about as fol
lows:
Gases cited before a United States
Commissioner, 400.
Cases squelshed by United States
Commissioners, for lack of evidence. 200
Gases that go off the docket for fail
IRE of witnesses to appear and other
causes, 20.
bills of Indictment sent to the grand
Not true bills returned by the grand
jury. 81.
True bills found. IS.
Gases continued for the defendant
and for the United States for various
reasons. IS.
Gases tried. %.
"Defendants pleading guilty. Z.
defendants acquitted after full hear
ing. IS.
Gases convicted. >"
This would leave five convictions ON
of 400 original cases. but it must u,
remembered that there are a number q
c~ontinudnces. Nobody. however. eypcct
many convictions out of these. and th,
Judgments Nj ST are generally the be
ginning of the end. The next is a iudc
~ment absolute and an execution acains
the bond is ordered. Nine-tenths O.
these are returned with the indorsemen
Nothing found upon which to satisfy tn,
eXecution.''
80 We have. according to the result.
'llS court, IN average of five cOnvic
mons out of 400 original cases. Mean
WINE the United States marshal deput,
inarShaIS. United States Commissioners
niioreaS of witnesses. whose evidenc,
III many instances neither the Commits
,,'"''>' ,he court nor the jury believe
~ '"oit' clerks. attorneys. iuries one
all nave drawn their pay ont Of III.
government. IT would be interesting +,
know how much these convictions raaI5,
cost. Not much less, we suppose than go
600 apiece. And these are tho I;na -
incompetent officials that the pritcba, I'd
Mckinney compact has fostcrcd ON Eortl
carolina and the United States govern
ment.
thIN n mail Der cent. of the mono,
"a god ~ f@n