The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-19
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT.
Some Pertinent Suggestions for Its
Relief.

Iverness, Fla, Sept. 1S-Editor of
the Morning News: Your Tallahassee
correspondent In the Morning News of
Sept. Is, for the purpose, we presume,
of showing the relief afforded the Su-
preme Court by the three Commission
ers, offers what he calsl a comparison,
by which he shows that the court with
the aid of commissioners did from
Sept. 10, 1901, to Sept. 8, 1902, by de-
cisions and dismissals dispose of 1863
cases, near half this number being
decisions without opinions and dis
missals." We are asked then, to COM
pare this statement with, Decisions
rendered during a corresponding period
before the appointment of commission
ers: Written opinions, SO; decisions.
without opinions and dismissals, 81, ia
cases.
We wish to state here that we agree
with your correspondent in saying that
there has been great many uncalled
for coarse and unjust things mot
criticisms, as they are far below the
level of criticism) said about the Su-
preme Court, but this does not relieve
any one, not even a regular newspa-
per correspondent, from the duty when
writing about matter of such inn
portance, matter in which 5the Whole
| state is interested, to give such. rag
mentary information as is stated
above
The comparative method in the as
certalnment of truth, is often very Ese-
full when properly applied bur is sell
dom the first, highest and best violence
OF the main facts to be determined. 1t
is not the number of cases that have
been decided and dismissed since the
appointment of the commission. and
the number of cases decided
and dismissed at a GORE
spending period"-a corresponding
| period is not a comparative period
that the people of the state are con-
cerned about. but they desire to know
LIST, When did the court first get be-
hind with it's business? If it was be-
hind at any time and caught up af-
| forwards, when did this occur? When
did it get behind the second or third
time, and when did it catch up with it's
business? What was the cause, or
causes, or causal fact or facts that
! hindered or INSTRUCTED the judges of
! the court to such an extent that they
! could not keep up with the business of
/ N'+N NObAN CT maps ii Careful
examination of the minutes ana
proceedings of the court, from
now backwards, might disclose the
cause of delaying the business. Or
proper inquiries made of the present
members of the court, and the ex-
| Judges of the court now living might
discover the matter of obstruction and
delay We presume that the judges
and ex-judges of the court would with
| Measure
forth the causes and reasons of the
delay and obstruction that. prevents
the court from keeping up with the
| business. Let any legitimate means be
| resorted to for the purpose of finding
out the truth of the matter, and the
whole truth. 1t is not enough to say
that the court is behind, and with the
aid of the commission is slowly catch
ing up, to authorize the costly and haz-
| ardous experiment of amending the
l. constitution. We cannot vet thinB
that in state having about 600 O0(
population it requires as many Su.
preme Court judges as in states hav-
| ing 100000 or 100000 population. We
feel almost sure that upon ascertain
ing the cause, or causes, from the
| sources above indicated, that a less
dangerous and less expensive remedy
than that of amending the constitu.
ton can be foud to remedy the evil
We are not unmindful of the great
wrongs being done the many litigants
now before the Supreme Court. hut
we cannot as yet see the necessity of
infiictng a great wrong upon the
| greater number of the people of the
state until we are informed of the
cause that has put the Supreme Court
so far behind its business. The reso-
! lutions of local bar associations, and
the prattling of newspapers and their
correspondents, setting forth no fact
but that the Supreme Court is behind