The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-30

the bar that in COke's time ii had been re-
cause Of woneT ainq Una, IN MS d be-
fore the benchers of the Inner Temple, and
as a special mark for his proficiency. an
hitting him to the bar on six years reading
he had in this time mastered the law of
EE,ngiand, ana three years later won the
Shelley case, and with it the first place at
the English bar
In England the most efficient barristers
We're promoted to the rank of sergeant and
from this rank only were judges eligible,
and when chosen they sat during good be-
In the beginning generally followed in Amer
ica The federal Constitution provides that
the President shall select the Judges,
offices for life. That coult has from the
peglnnlng sought TO have bar fit for that
bench.
An educated bar, with a bench chosen
from the leaders of such bar sitting during
| ire, is no doubt the surest way of maintain
| ing the best court
| THE INDIANA BAR
Upon the organization of Indiana into a
state government. the Constitution of 1916
provided for an appointive judiciary. The
judges, circuit and supreme, held their off,
ces for seven years. 1t was thought i'm
proper at the time, in a new country to
create life tenure: that good judges would
be continued by the appointive power, and
less competent judges would be supplanted
from time to time, by better men, as the
| State increased in population and the bar
multiplied and improved. To secure a good
bar the law provided that no person should
be permitted to practice without having pre-
Vlously obtained license for that purpose
| from at least two of the Judges In addi-
| aloll Ine applicant was required to obtain
! d ceruHcate from a circuit court of his
| good moral character. Throughout the va
nous political changes of the State, Judge
| Blacktord sat continuously upon the SUI
preme Bench from 1917 to 1900 Judge Dewey
| sat by his side for twelve years And many
| ct the. circuit judges continued upon the
! bench undisturoed by pollIlca. influences
| from term to term.
Ultimately for reasons not material to be
stated here, the public mind became dissat-
isned Tor short time with both bench and
| bar-not in this State alone but 1t might
almost be said wherever .nere were English
! speaking people. Bentham and others. who
were neither lawyers not statesmen. seized
upon some things that were wrong in the
| judicial system, and sought to abolish the
| profession. The laws We're to be made so
that not only every person could understand
| them, but so that any one could apply and
| enforce them. written rule was to be
MADE 10 protect every right and condemn
| every wrong; so that, whenever a dispute
arose., any passer-by could take the Code
from his pocket, read the rule make de-
| clslon and go on. OF course an educated
and trained bar would not be longer needed:
no more a learned bench. Everything was
| TO pc so simple that learning would be su-
| periious. New rules of practice were also
/ to- be made as simple as the laws them
| be just as good a lawyer as any other.
by reason of some things it was easy
! Tor owen and others to persuade the masses
of this State that 1t might be done, and they
| would do it,.
| In Snort, going no wider than this State
| the Constitution was rewritten in 1850 and
made to provide for entirely elective jul
| dietary; and it was further adopted as a
| constitutional truth that every person Of
| good moral character, being voter, shall
| be entitled to admission to practice law in
| all the courts of Justice And it is now
held If woman she may practice although
ITO carry out the purpose of this move
ment, 1t was also provided in the Constitu-
| ton that the next ensuing General Assembly
/ should appoint a commission to rewrite the
| laws OF the State, plainly Worded, avoiding
as far as practicable the use of technical
| terms, abollshlng old forms of practice and
reducing to single code the general laws
of the State.
The Legislature met, and while it con-
| tanned many able men it cannot be affirmed
/ that it fulfilled all the duties put upon it
/ by the Constitution. 1t altered the law of
inheritance and some Others and copied the
| practice code of the State of New York,
with some alterations; but, strange to say
added that the law governing this State
| should be, among other things, the common
law of England and the statutes of the
! British Parliament made In aid thereof
| prior to 1907, and which are of a general
| nature, and not local to that kingdom, and
| not inconsistent with the Constitution and
statutes of he United States and the statutes
! anything about the common or unwrtten
| law of England. and who had in his private
library the, statutes of Pariament?l
1T would have taken to foretell
| that out of this lawsuits would spring up
| thicker than men grew when Cadmus cast
| The records of the Supreme Court show
| that since the adoption of the Constitution
| more than $50 volumes of cases have been
| printed, and they are being issued at the
| rate of six to ten volumes a year.
! Moreover, fortunes and estates are lost
| time and time again because those to whom
| thew infrIISfp6 nr0fp0finn
| pable OF discharging the duties of lawyer.
1T is a rare thing, indeed, to find a case
| reported at Washington showing a mis-
carriage of justice through the ignorance or
| negligence of lawyer. 1t IS sad to say
that this is so frequent at home that the
people, having some faith in their lawyers
| because they select them and to blame
| them is to condemn their own judgment)
| lay the blame upon the judges, until far too
many have come to doubt the ability and
| integrity of the bench. This volume of in
| congruous litigation, necessarily springing
| from the new system, has in another way
| wrought harm. The cases were many
| that in a few years the Supreme Court was
| entirely unable to cope with the business,
| and for twenty years past efforts, tentative
| in character. have been made from time 10
time to keep down the, just and Outspoken
| criticism of the laws delay.
OUR DUAL COURT SYSTEM.
| "It has come to pass that we have in fact
| two Supreme Courts. One incident is enough
to illustrate, if not to condemn, this dual
wrong doer at the same time and place, by
one and the same act Two suits were
brought. Both cases were tried, and in sub
stance and effect the same special verdict
was returned by the juries; but it so hap
pened that one of the verdicts was in a
sum sufficient to carry that case to the Su-
preme Court while the other, not being
sufficient, fell into the Appellate Court.
Now, one court gave judgment on the YER
dict one way, and the other court the other
way.
1.-The bar is not satisfied with this condi-
ton of affairs. The public is also dissatis-
fed with the bar, and sometimes murmurs
at the bench; and efforts have been made
from time to time to cure these evils. '
THE harm that a poor lawyer does Is not
always in the courthouse Indeed, it is quite
as often on the outside. He writes con-
tracts conveyances. wills and the like and
| gives advice, without any knowledge of the
| legal effect. Many of the more important
| lawsuits arise out of the mistakes made by
| these poor constitutional lawyers, so that
| it has come to be said that poor lawyer is
| the good lawyers best friend. Also, it may
as well be said that he is the peoples worst
| enemy.
| Everybody is interested in having a
! good bar, and no class is more keeny alive
| TO this than the good lawyers of the State
| OF course, lawsuits must needs come, but
| the fewer that come the better for the peo-
| Pile and in proportion to the capacity and
! fitness of the bar is litigation decreased