The Washington times., 1901-08-04
THE POLICE COURT SYSTEM.
A PronositiOu {" Employ Precinct
Magistrates Revived.

The necessity of erecting a new Police
Court Building, or of changing the court
| system of the city. has been impressed
| upon the minds of those who have visited
| the court during the present year Es-
| pc cially during the hot weather have the
inadequate facilities for dispensing jus
tice in the Police ,Court been illustrated
| from day to day in the crowded condi-
| ton of the rooms and Railways and in
the sitting atmospheresef the premises
| Major Sylvester has for several years
advo >ated a change OF system rather than
the enlargement of the present court
| house He believes that the best interests
Of the Police Department as well as the
| prompt administration of justice demand
| the Inauguration of the magistrate system
| of trying police eases daily in the police
| stations. This plan would scatter the
| hearings of the ordinary cases among
the several precincts. would save the
crowding of the docket through the morn
ing hours at the central court and would
obviate the attendance of the policemen
at the court when they should be resting
or upon their beats.
In speaking of the matter yesterday
Major Sylvester stated that in his opinion
the change to the magistrate system was
the only thing to properly relieve the sit
uation. He thinks that the present meth
cd. which appeared best when the city
was much smaller than now and when
the working of the system did not put
such strain upon the department as
now, should be abandoned and the pres
ent Police Court changed into a higher
court for the trial of cases by jury and
cases appealed from the magistrates
According to Major Sylvester's idea
there should be magistrate appointed
for each precinct, and they should be au-
thorized to hold court twice each day,
forenoon and afternoon, for the trial of
cases coming up in the various precincts.
The magistrate would have authority to
pass upon all misdemeanors and minor
cases, where the defendant did not waive
examination and demand jury trial The
latter cases would be tried in the CEN
tral police court, as now
The advantages of such system, ac-
cording to Major Sylvester, would be the
much greater facility given to the trial
OF cases. Arrests made during the night
would be disposed of at the morning hear
ing, without the necessity of the prisoners
leaving the stationhouses. The witnesses
would be at hand and their testimony
would be given in the majority of cases
with only few persons present, instead
of in a crowded courtroom with hundreds
of loungers and curiosity-seekers. Those
under arrest in cases where they were to
be given their freedom. would be saved
the humiliation of being taken through
the streets IN the patrol in the daylight
and of being forced to run the gantlet of
curious eyes at the courthouse when they
arrive there.
But the greatest advantage from the
standpoint of the department, Major SyI-
vester thinks, would be in the ease with
which the policemen making the arrests
could be called TO give their evidence and
go back again to their beats or to their
beds. as the case might be. Two or at
most three sessions of the court each day
would cover all the arrests made and the
court docket would all the time be up
with the station biotter.