Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-11-30

is ready for the sickle, and insist, a a
strict legal right, that those thirty or
forty cases be then taken UP and tried,
and that a jury consisting of % farm
ers shall be forced to remain in attend
ance upon court. with the inevitable
result that a large portion at least of
their crops will 60 back into the ground
and they will thus lose much of the
fruits of the years ,labor-and this
simply to serve the convenience Of a
lawyer whose cases might have been
tried by him, had he felt disposed to
try them, at a previous term, when they
could have been tried without incon-
venience to either court, jurors or wit
nesses. Sa- +
The supreme court of this state say
that this can be done. I emphatically
deny that a lawyer has any such legal
right, and upon that issue 1 believe I
can appeal confidently to the common
sense of the people. That proposition
of law will never stand. The COM
mon Judgment of lawyers and laynen
will condemn it and it will be swept
aside with the exigency that gave it
birth.
In the opinion, as I find it in the
newspapers, there occurs the follow
ing: "The interests of suitors are
especially safe-guarded by the law, and
every lawyer knows that repeated
and vexatious delays in the courts are
often tantamount to a denial of JUS
tice." Now, I am the defendant in
this law suit, and it is of course toward
me that that shaft is directed. The
plain Inference to be drawn from it is
that I, in some way. have caused ere
peated and vexatious delays" in the
trial of aus in the court over which
/ have been called to preside. 1t can
mean nothing else. The record before
the supreme court shows-and shows
conclusively-shows even beyond a
possibility of a question-that this in
situation is absolutely without even
the shadow of a fact on which to rest.
The record in the Office of the clerk of
the court of this county as to the dis
position of every ase ON the calendar
during the four terms next preceding
the term held last July was presented
to the supreme court, and the record
showed, and the fact was not denied.
that at those four several terms of
court there were on IN average about
seventy-five cases at each term, and
that of all those cases at those four
several terms of court only two were
continued over the term by order of
the court. of all that great mass of liti-
cation before the court at those terms,
and that all other cases were either
tried. dismissed, settled out of court or
continued owe the terms by consent
of the parties themselves. =
In the light of this record, 7 ask any
fair minded man.. be he lawyer or lay
man, what foundation is there for this
charge that 1 have caused repeated
and vexatious delays" in the t~ransac-
ton of the business of my court. "
To the bar and judiciary of this state
I ask this question:: In the light of
that record was the. supreme court of
this state justified in writing this in
situation in the records of their court?
Why have they done it? The record
was before them. The facts were not
in dispute. They were not called up
on to determine questions of fact from
conflicting testimony.
The supreme. court say that I have
not done my full duty in the matter
of calling outside judges to try cases
in which atfidavits Of prejudice have
been filed. In that respect, the un-
contradicted evidence showed this state
OF facts-and it will be borne in mind
that these matters were not ever dis
puted. The affidav1ts of prejudice
law went into effect on the first day
of July, 1899. The next term for
Richland county was held on the 9Th
day OF July, 1899. " On the day that
court opened for that term about 25
afidavits of prejudice were filed by
the two firms of lawyers. On the 7th
day of July 1 wrote all the judges in
the state, severally asking them to
come to Wahpeton and sit in the trial
OF these cases. I received prompt re-
plies from them all, and all except his
honor Judge Winchester, Judge Nor
gan among the rest, refused my re-
quest. Judge Winchester replied that
he could come on the Oath day OF July.
Some time before that date it was evil
dent that the cases he would be asked
to try would be reached before the
18th / wired him to come at once.
He was in the country and the mes.
sage could not be delivered. Iswired
the Office ait Bismarck to have my tel
egram delivered to Judge Winchester
by special messenger at my personal