The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-08-21

not sit in that court His decisions
were submitted to the review of men
whose daily work was in the common
law, and who, therefore, were not
familiar with equity practice and
principles; and everybody who has
studied the subject knows that among
the decisions Of that court are found
an unusually large number Of errors,
now admitted to be such
AT this time the number of appeals
and wrIts of error is SO great that
the system is absolutely no lcngel
workable. The six judges especially
appointed have had their compenSa-
ton advanced to twenty-five dollars
per day for the days they actually sit
in court, and few days over.
amounting in year to about one
hundred days, making their compen-
sation about 81, 500 each. Those o.
them who are not lawyers are entire
ly incompetent to deal with the great
questions presented. Those OF them
that are lawyers don't feel obliged to
work beyond the time that they are
paid for, and that time is not suffi-
cient to enable them to consider the
cases submitted
Now there are two palpable reasons
for this situation First. Years ago
the Court could afford time enough
to allow counsel six hours on side
to argue their causes, and more time
if required. The printed case was al
ways read from beginning to end
all authorities cited were brought
into court and read, and the matters
were fully discussed and considered
at the time and were usually decided
at the same term: so that the judges
were not obliged to take any work
home with them OF la e, the court,
for want of time, has been obliged to
limit counsel to one hour each
never over two hours each on side,
and where only one counsel on
side is involved, one houron side.
The result is that the printed case
and the authorities cited are seldom
read at the argument. The Court
gets mere faint impression Of what
the questions are, and each case must
be taken up and studied by each
Judge at home. Another reason is
that large number of cases are sub
mitted to the court on printed argu-
ments, without oral arguments.
These cases, of course, must be taken
up and considered in the judges
study. The result is that the time
spent in court is but fraction OF
that actually devoted to the case.
This shows that the judges specially
appointed, although of late many of
them have been lawyers. do not and
cannot be expected. for the pay they
receive, to do the work properly;
and the judges OF the Supreme Court
absolutely do not have time to attend
to the Supreme Court business.
and their Circuit business, and
their murder trials, and give the
business in the Court OF Errors and
Appeals its proper attention.
OF course it is the duty ofeach in
dividual judge to study each individ-
ual case by himself, and he cannot
avoid that duty by casting the
burden on the shoulders of other
Judges; and here we come to the in
trinsic defect in the constitution OF
the court The tendency OF numer-
Gus Judges. sitting in one case, is to
diminish the feeling of personal re-
sponsbility in each, and this is SER
iOuS matter.
Can sum up the criticism on the
constitution of this court by saying
that there are too many men to DO
the work, and not time enough in
which to do it.
A remedy for this state OF affairs is
absolutely necessary At this mo-
ment the court is substantially broken
down, so to speak. At the last Jure
term it was practically unable to hear
argument in any causes; it had not.
at the meeting of the court, disposed
of more than small number of the
causes submitted at the March term,
and was only able to get through with
those by the goth of July, although
no time was spent in hearing argr-
ments during the June term. Such
is the present situation.
The Court of Chancery is in good
working order. The County Courts
are in good working order. The Cir
cult Courts and the Supreme Court
would be in good working order, were
it not for the fact that the judges Of
these courts are obliged to do duty
in three or four courts, and have not
time in which to do it.
| therefore state as my opinion
that the lack OF time which the
Judges of the Supreme Court, for
the last few years. have experienced
in properly attending to their
business, has led to errors in both
that court and the Court of Errors
and Appeals; they have over-strained
themselves to clear their lists. Now,
| affirm that litigants are entitled to
have their causes tried by Judges
that are not overworked and tired.
Nobody wishes to have his case con-
sidered by tired judge, who has not
the nervous energy to take it up and
give it attention-who has not time
to give it second thought. A hurried
Judge is too apt to decide on a first
Impressions; which is always dang
erOuS.
There have been great improvements
i'll all the arts of life in the matter of time
occupied in performing the various func-
tions of society; we accomplish great
many tHlHSS III great uSdl less tliHS
than they occupied many years ago. But
the operations of nature have not changed
i'll that respect it takes as long to raise a
field of grain or grass as it ever did. The
time of the CESSATION of the infant is the
same now that it was when man first
dwelt on the earth 1t takes the same
length of time for him to arrive at matu-
rity that it has always taken and the OPP
erations of the human mind are the same
as they were four thousand, FIVE thousand