The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-11
His Proposed Amendment to State
Constitution More Far-Reaching
than Was Thought.
ABoL1sHING APPELLATE COURT
THE SENATOR CALLS ATTENTION TO
CONFLICTING OPINIONS.
Sections Omitted by His Bill as Inn
portant as Those Specifically
Changed-Tenor of Bill.

Senator Dausman's joint resolution for an
amendment to the State Constitution where
by the Supreme and Circuit Courts will be
divorced from politics, Is more far-reaching
in its effect than has yet been set forth in
any of the newspaper references to it. Ar
ticle of the Constitution. which the reso-
luton would amend. is a long one, contain
In twenty-one sections. Senator Daus-
mans amendment covers the whole article,
but is not nearly so long. He leaves one
or two of the present sections in, changes
one or two others and leaves out altogether
over half of them. Therefore his amend
ment is quite important for the things
it omits as for those it includes.
For example, Senator Dausman omits
from the article Section q, which makes
the much-agitated provision that Every
person of good moral character, being a
voter. shall be entitled to practice law in
all courts of Justice" If the amendment
carries there will then be no constitutional
provision concerning the practice of law
and the Legislature may go ahead and
make such regulations as it sees fit Sew
eral attempts have been made to secure a
constitutional amendment on this point but
they have all failed, and it has been under
amendment would be introduced early this
session. Senator Dausman has already done
all that is to be desired along this Iine how
ever
Senator Dausman's amendment provides
first that the judicial power of the State
shall be vested i'm one Supreme Court. in
Circuit Courts and in such other inferior
courts as the General Assembly may estab-
lish. and the judges shall be appointed by
the Governor, by and with the approval of
the Senate, to serve for life or during good
behavior. The senator then omits the pro-
vision that the Supreme Court shall con-
sist of not less than three nor more than
five judges.
AVOIDING CONFLICT.
81 omit that section he said last night
with the idea that the Legislature NAV
in time abolish the Appellate Court by in
creasing the number of Supreme Court
judges so that they can handle all the
business. Attorneys have long been de-
sirous of a change that would do away
with the conflicting opinions of our upper
courts. A year or two ago 1 had occasion
to investigate an accident in our county
in which bridge gave way under a crowd
and number enSin al people OPP S Tere injured with
was liable for damages. / found an ex-
haustive opinion of the Appellate Court
i'm which IL was held that the county was
liable and that the courts had always held
that way. A page of decisions were cited
in support of the opinion. month later
the Supreme Court made a decision in a
Similar case. finding that the county wa q
not liable, that IL never had been held lia :
hle and citing an equal number of de-
cisions confirming that opinion. When the
Appellate Court was created 1t was done
because the number OF judges on the Su-
nreme Bench could not be sufficiently in
creased to handle the business. You will
notice that ] have made no provision for