The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-18
BETTER ROTATION SYSTEM
NO NEED TO SEND A JUDGE ALL
THE WAY FROM CHEROKEE
TO CURRITUCK.
SKETCHES or CONFEDERATE REGIMENTS
Forty live Sketches Ready. The Legislature
viii be Asked by the Vestran Asso-
citation 10 Print hem.

Cldtton 10 fTtnl Ileitls
In yesterdays issue appeared a com
munication from Judge Geo. II. Brown,
the Superior Court, recommending a
Constitutional amendment by which Il
Judge the Supreme Court could be sent
by the Governor to hold special terms
O the Superior courts. il reporter of the
News and Observer called on Judge
Walter Clark, of the Supreme Court, for
his views ont the subject Judge Clark
said:
Judge Brown inadvertently underes-
Inmates the length of time the. Supreme
Court sits which in fact is about the
same as that of Superior court judges,
besides we are engaged in vacation upon
the hard cases which are carried over
under adyisari. Many opinions are
written in vacation and presented on the
re-assembling of the court. But speaking
for myself-not assuming to speak fol
my associates should be glad to see
Judge Browns idea adopted. 1t would
do no harm for a Supreme court judge
to go out occasionally among the people
and hold term of the Superior court,
provided he was not sent while his own
court is in session This is done in sew
eral States as well by the United States.
If. as some think, the effect of being on
the appellate court is to become technical
and prone to discover microscopic errors
in courts below, an occasional practical
experience of the difficulties and nature
of a trial in the Superior court is a
good remedy. If the amendment is sub
mitted. | would like to see embraced IN
it another provision, that the Superior
courts shall be divided into divisions of
not less than six districts and no Supe-
rior court judge required to rotate out of
his own division.
The reporter asked what was the oh
ject of this. The judge replied, that
from the standpoint of the administration
of justice and the public interest. the
rotating system should be preserved, but
from the standpoint Of the judges it
might be improved upon. When we
had only six or eight districts it was
necessary that the judges should rotate
through the entire State TO prevent their
holding the courts of the same county
too often. but now if the courts were
grouped into divisions of not less than
six districts, it could still be provided
that no judge should hold the courts of
any county oftener than once in three
years. With our present number of Su-
perior courts districts (twelve) no judge
would go more than half across the
State, and when with the rapid increase
in population and business the number
is increased to eighteen districts, or
more. fas must soon be the case) no
Judge will ever be more than one-third
the length of the State, nor more than
six or eight hours distance from home.
A judge should not be sent clear across
the State, from Cherokee to Currituck,
when he may have a sick family at
home, when there is no compensating adj
vantage to the public.
With the increase in the number of
judges, we can by dividing them into di-
visions of not less than six districts to a
division so arrange the rulings that we
shall retain all the benefits of rotation
without its disadvantages. / regard the
office of Superior court judge as second
to none in Importance in the State. He
mixes with the people, he sees their
wants, their deprivations, the hardships
they undergo. He learns their wishes
and their aspirations and the people
learn him and his motives. Every good
man in the office of Superior court
Judge is a power for good and no I'M
necessary restrictions or hardships
should be imposed on the position which
will prevent any good man from ac-
cepting it, 1t is now almost an impossi-
bility for man with young children at
home to take it.
Judge Clark was also asked about the
bill to print the sketches of Confederate
regiments from North Carolina. He re-
FLIED that not line of them was written
by him. nor did the idea originate with
himself. That by vote of the "Confed-