Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1903-03-06
'That Costly Court"

The article widely published recently
purporting to come from the Office of the
County Commissioners, which undertook To
give the cost Of the last term of the Circuit
Court for this county, was incorrect in some
Of Its details and evidently extravagant in
all OF Its estimates, leading to manifestly un.
fair differences.
Evidently this statement was published
and circulated for the purpose of creating
sentiment against the local option law and
in favor Of the license system, one CORE.
spondent at least having stated in his paper
that the publication of this report had had
this effect.
In the article In question, the Clerk TO the
County Commissioners has stated the total
cost of the November term to be $685. rs.
To reach this sum he has estimated the fees
Of the States Attorney, Clerk and Sheriff to
be $500. am told that these very liberal
estimates are based upon the Court fees of
these three officers for six calendar months
for the year 1901, utter allowing for the in.
creased number Of indictments, witnesses,
&C., for the November term, 1909.
The expense in one criminal case affords
no basis for estimating the expense OF an.
other criminal case, as the expense factors
involved may be entirely dlssimilar. This
must be perfectly apparent to any thinking
person.
In the same manner a given number of
indictments or witnesses summoned at one
term can furnish no guide to the cost of q
similar number at any other term.
The fact is that out Of 81 cases on the
criminal docket Of the last November term
that went to trial, only were local option
or gambling cases, leaving 28 other criminal
cases to shoulder three-fourths of the cost OF
the criminal docket, If the method Of esti.
mates adopted by the Clerk to the County
Commissioners is to be followed.
The following figures have been carefully
copied, and footed up from the minute
Book" of the term, and constitute the only
record of known expenses available to any
one at the present time for the entire term
of the Court, viz:
Grand Jurors, $754.10; Petit Jurors,
$l,097; Talesmen, $17 so; Grand Jury wit.
nesses, 1864. 100; States witnesses, $451. 70;
Crier Of the Court. $e5 90; Bailiffs, $222.5O.
Total, %, 17s 80.
The total amount Of fines and penalties
imposed was 1851 10. one forfeiture Of
$500, costs Of $405.90, making a total Of
81, 1877 90, of which amount $2,Sl25O will
go TO the Anti-Saloon League, the remain.
ing $2,SS4.60 going TO Montgomery county.
There were 23 days taken up by the term,
Of which number Q were consumed In the
consideration of civil business, and II by
criminal business, of which latter only 9
days were consumed In the trial of local Cd.
ton cases, the remaining II days being oc.
cupied with other criminal cases. There
were 81 criminal cases tried, only Of which
were local option and gambling cases, be-
cause In most of these cases the offenders
entered pleas of guilty.
The annual financial statement of the
county will be published In December, when
the total fees received by the States Attor-
ney, Clerk of the Court and Sheriff can be
read; but these will furnish no decisive data
as to the expense attendant upon the en-.
:orcement of the local option law, for the
reason, In the case Of all three 1t would be
impossible to say what portion Of the Grim.
inal fees were from local option cases.