River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-05-23
REACHING FOR MORE CASES.


house. For couple of hours or SO
in the morning the work of examin-
ing citations proceeds, the details
varying with the nature of the case.
In the evening he puts in his best
work on the case in hand, and if it is
an interesting one will probably keep
at it until late hour. Perhaps he
has his secretary read him the cited
passages or the provisions of the law,
or the record of the lower court upon
which the case was argued, while he
ponders the matter from an easy
chair. This is continued until he has
absorbed clear ideas of his own of
what ought to be the decision in the
case. All of this, mind you, before
he begins to prepare to write the ulti-
mate decision.
Before any case is argued before
the supreme court the lawyers are
required to file briefs, fully setting
forth their contentious; and the jus
tees depend more upon these printed
briefs than they do upon any oral ar
guments which may be made in open
court. The arguments which are de-
livered are always prosy, uninterest-
ing to laymen and devoid of oragory.
Attorneys confine themselves to cita-
tions of law and of fact, because
there is no jury to influence, and
they know that the stern and solemn
justices would quietly resent any at
tempt to affect their judgments with
rhetorical flights or with oratorical
ordinations for dramatic effect. For
these and many miner reasons no
oratory is ever heard in the supreme
courtroom. Grover Cleveland, Benja-
min Harrison and others of eminence
have been heard there by the writer,
but all of their arguments have been
delivered in a converse tional mono
tone.
Now when the supreme court adj
journs for term the associate JUS
tees do not go home, nor take trips
to seashore or mountain: On the
contrary, they pack their trunks, not
only with clothing, but with pend
ing cases, and proceed to go on their
circuits and resume their judicial du,
ties in various parts of the republic
In their capacity as circuit judges
they conduct courts of appeals. for
the various circuits, and herein their
duties are onerous as well as of great
responsibility. There are many cases
tried before the courts of appeals
which are left for final hearings when
the associate justice shall preside. In
the event of dissatisfaction with the
decisions reached under such condi-
tions appeals may be taken to the
supreme court. Here again is the
burden of responsibility felt, because
the travelling associate justice must
give to each case such consideration
that his decision viii be sustained by
the full bench if an appeal shall be
taken. Consequently it is exceeding
~ rare that any decision of an asso-
ciate justice, presiding over a circuit
court of appeals, is ever overruled by
the supreme court. This is a fact
which younger practitioners might do
well to file away in their memories.
for it may save them a great deal of
time and the waste of much talent
in the future when they have cases
before the circuit courts of appeals,
with associate justices of the SUI
preme court presiding and deciding
issues of law and fact.
In these circuit courts there are
cases pending in which are Involved
many millions of property of ihdivid-
uals and of states, and also cases in
volving human life. It needs no elab-
Grafton to demonstrate that these
cases require careful study; aDd then
remember that there is a trunk con.
tanning lot of other important cases
which must be studied in leisure
hours, if there ever are any leisure
hours. The cases in the trunk are
for the supreme court, and some of
the opinions to he reached and writ
cen can be the result only of exhaust
i've research, requiring delying and
study with logic and careful reason
ing. Some Of these forthcoming opjn-
ions must necessarily be of great
length, for the supreme court must
be intrenched in an impregnable citn-
del of presidents and references.
And so the days and weeks and
months 60 by until the October term
begins Nobody sees any manifesto
tions of the work while has been
ia progress, and nobody realizes il.
even when the decisions are HANDED
down day after day. SIXTH y FRy