New-York tribune., 1902-04-28
THIS COURT UNFIT FOR USE
IN THE FIFTH DISTRICT POOR ARE AT
INSTALMENT DEALERS MERCY.
CASES OVERLOOKED BECAUSE LITIGANTS
CANNOT MAKE THEIR PRES
ENCE KNOWN.


inefficient clerks attendants. but because the
room is so small and crowded that the litigant
cannot see the proceedings, where the voice of
the justice cannot be heard. where the install
ment dealer has every chance to ply his nefari-
Gus tricks-this is the Characterization Of the
Fifth District Municipal Court in the report of
R. c. Ringwalt and c. ". Stewart. jr.. of the
Legal Aid Society. This report, contained in
the new year book of the University Settlement
Society, gives fresh expression to an intolerable
state of affairs long prevailing the East Side.
OF the conditions in this Fifth District Munic-
ipal Court the following description is given in
the report
The courtroom at No. 154 Clinton -st-narrow. I'll
lighted i'll ventilated, bare and ugly-would be a
peonle 10 tIapeant bsie m to of - tb aIIest consa
Iuence But there court of justice is held; there
court in this city Every day '.swiidered. ig-
norant. pitiable mass is jammed into the benches.
cency and less formality than one commonly finds
IN IN Bower dime museum Cases are overlookeq f
gants are unable TO understand when they are
known. No matter how carefully this court is
Considering the conditions on IT a is
De. the place can never be fit for the purpose Tor
which fe it Is ssd3 now used t,,. situation clearer
What is now tie Fifth Judicial District ap-
the Seventh Eleventh and Thirteenth These
wards now compose it In 1850 two years later. the
s5oosS In is45 there had been little foreign mmi-
grafton tenement houses and congestion Of Popq-
the most thlckly populated part of the city. Again.
isss in the Fifth District Court i7ois diferent mat
ters were disposed Of. The nearest which this was
Wbch Ry of ooH5 IN
ters were cared for in the Fifth and u 42o in the
result: that IS that the former court disposes of
City. '0A- III ii''f7 cases ina" any 0''e'
As final fact in regard to this courthouse il is
interesting to observe that the building has been
several times condemned by the Board Of Health.
How insufferabIe these conditions Trib-
une reporter who accompanied Mr.. Ringwalt
on his visit TO the Fifth District Court the other
morning had an opportunity to Judge. As the
reporter entered the room, crowded to suffoca-
ton, he was instantly conscious of the sickening
odor which comes from poor ventilation Into
a narrow room, scarcely twenty feet long. were
crowded several hundred persons. mostly the
inhabitants Of nearby tenements. few half
opened windows allowed a breath Of air to en-
ter but this Of ventilation was
viewed with suspicion by learned counsellors
down whose necks the wind blew strongly
AS the reporter entered Justice Hoffman
calling cases. At the rear were dozens Of per-
sons who had cases listening intently to catch
his words. only a dull rlurmur Of which reached
the back Of the room. The low hum Of whispers
that from the crowd rendered the words
absolutely indistinguisha BILE at that distance.
officers charged with keeping the court in order
pounded the railings for silence. but only
their motions could be seen. great was the
racket.
Forcing their way to the wall, Mr.. Ringwalt
and the reporter listened to the proceedings.
Suddenly a slight. delicate woman, whose case
had been called and for whom the officers
bawling. started forward: it several mo-
ments before she managed to make her way
through the crowd and up to the stand. Turn
ing to speak to her witnesses. some of whom
had followed her, she discovered that the crowd
had closed behind her. and they were left be-
hind Then came long delay waiting for them
to appear. One of them. who was seated on
bench, did not discover the up until
her attention was attracted by the frantic wav-
ings Of the counsel.
This was sample of the difficulty attending
the calling Of the cases. The hundreds of for
eigners, packed into the narrow benches so
tightly they could not stir, jammed against
the wall at the back of the courtroom, scarcely
able to understand the language at all, We're
huddled together in a stupefied fashion, unable
to comprehend in the slightest degree what
going 1t impossible to tell from the
rear Of the room what going at the
front. Attempts to maintain order only added
to the confusion. The dignity belonging to a
court, the decorum ordinarily preserved at Ju-
dicial sessions, absolutely lacking; there
was nothing but confusion and disorder. and all
this despite the efforts OF the justice and his at
tendants And beyond all this the odor of
fetid air
That this condition Of affairs results in many
injustices and hardshps to the poor may be
gathered from the case Of Pasquale Guido who
recently appeared in this court in an instalment
case Guido who is q resident of Brooklyn.
nra1 10 in FMS 1YT1an
and four times appeared IN court. only to hear
that the case was adjourned On the fifth time
as he sat in the courtroom, marshal called
him aside and spoke to him. During Guido's
conversation with the marshal the case was
called and Judgment secured against him. the
case going by default Mr.. Ringwalt assured
the reporter that this only one Of many
such instances.
A similar situation exists at the Essex Mar
ket Police Court. a few blocks away. Here the
same narrow courtroom. providing for even
fewer people, frequently on Sunday mornings
crowded TO suffocation with the victims of n
usual police activity, supported by their district
leaders and friends. brings the same evils into
existence. When the court is In session the
steps and Railways are crowded, entrance is
difficult and all possibility Of hearing or fol-
lowing the proceedings is impossible.
Such conditions in these two neighboring
courts are admittedly bad The person who ap-
nears In court, whether a prisoner or as a
iitigant is hustled before the judge with an
slacrity made necessary by the need Of clearing
he way for the increasing number Of persons
The oath is administered to him by the clerk in
much this fashion: "Hold-up- your-rfght- hand
,ro,, o,,solennnly-swear-to-te tell the-truth what's
vorr- ma where do -you-lve?" All this in the
same breath
The result is that the dignity and impressive
nature of the law the sacredness Of the oath and
tho whole attitude one is accustomed to pre-
serve before a member Of the judiciary are shat
tered Pandemonium supplants order, noise
.ory ffDl n h.
less haste replaces judicial deliberatfon.
To remedy this evil the Legal Aid Society
proposes the erection near Grand-st- OF an am
pIe court building In which may be placed both
Tho rnunicipal and the police court, adequate