The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-05-31

of every civilized country, in which may
/ be found at once the best sense of the
Iablest men of all times and the wisest and
| most foolish schemes of legislation which
the human brain has been able to concoct,
to bring conviction that the law is indeed
| the greatest of all professions, from a
purely practical standpoint.
Again, it is literally true that the most
astute, quick wittcd, diplomatic, taetful,
rcsourceful men in the world are to be
found in the ranks Of the legal profession.
This is necessity Let any man imagine
that his life or his property is jeopardized
or put in peril by the action or some
lother person, through perversion of the
! law: and ne must concede that he would
be hopelessly lost if it we're not that he
could find somebody who is able and
willing to meet every attack of whatever
nature and however openly or covertly
made. with absolute knowledge of the law
land skill in the application OF It, Thus
in conduct as well as in learning, lawyers,
if they are at their best, are pre- emInentiy
practical men of transcendent abilities
| Unfortunately the ideal and the real are
not often united in human beings. The
percentage of foolish lawyers may not be
higher than that of foolish preachers or
doctors. but it is certainly very high
lCertainIy it is easily demonstrable that the
lawyers residing and practising in the
great State of New York, in the year OF
grace. 1903, do many foolish things which
cannot be accounted for on any theory at
Ian excepting that they would rather be
foolish themselves than to make experl-
ments which may be harmful to others
We will now take up one or two par
lticulars and show how this is. Everybody,
llayman and lawyer, understands that
when a case has been tried and it becomes
necessary to take an appeal, it is right
and proper that the pleadings, the testi-
Imony and all exhibits, or such substantial
parts thereof as bear upon the essentials
Of the controversy, should be copied and
printed for the appellate tribunal. To
that end of course, it is necessary that
the names of the attorneys, appearing for
1.-THE respective sides, should be conspicu-
lously certified to the appellate court. But
Iwhat shall we say of the system in vogue
whereby the title of the case with the
names and addresses of the attorneys is
printed on the outside OF the appealbook,
again on the pleadings, to say nothing OF
the summons; also at the beginning OF
the stenographer's minuates; on the no
tice of appeal and finally on an agreement
TO dispense with certification of the re-
cord?
Was there ever a more absurd practice
than this or more useless waste of time
material and money? Again, in every APP
DEADLOCK not less than one page is de-
voted to the printing of the summons an
instrument which is absolutely of no Sc
uence, ordinarily 80 far as the appeal is
concerned. and the full title of the case
(which the printers spread out in every
instance over at least one-hal page (for
(which somebody is to pay about half
dollar) viii be found anywhere from ten
to one hundred times in the printed re-
cord, according to its size and contents
IF anybody can imagine why the Court
Iof Appeals of the State of New York
Ishould be told more than once that
Ioertain case is that Of Smith against Jones
land that the lawyers therein are Thomp-
son and Robinson he viii be entitled to
join the freaks in Barnum and Bailey's
lCircus or to take place in the lunatic
ward Of Bloomingdale Asylum.
Once again, we are told that trial by
jury is the palladium of our liberties.
Some people are pleased to refer to it as
the "bulwark" o. our rights, and it will
be conceded that, in the main, it is a
igood thing At the same time, there is
more foolishness going on with juries and
jury trials than any man can set down in
La book of 100 folios In almost every
case of disputed fact nowadays, the trial
judge has to submit the issue in dispute
to the jury but if they do not return a
verdict according to what the judge thinks
is the weight of evidence, he can set the
verdict aside, and If either party is salts
fled that the jury did not know what
they We're doing, he may take the whole
case on the law and the facts to the Ap-
lpellatc Court. Here again the judges may
say whether the case was decided proper
| " on the law and the facts. Now what
is the practical utility of taking one dozen
woodworking, property citizens
from their business, and budding them to-
gether IN a cage, commonly called the
jurybox, where they have to sit and
hear the palaver of witnesses and LAWYERS
for hours and hours, and are then obliged
to follow manikin and be locked up
in stuffy hole. known as the consulta-
ton room to be thence led out for the
rendition of their verdict, when they may
presently be told that they did not decide
the case right did not know what thev
were talking about, and if, after all the
( Appellate Court has the last say on the
question, whether the plaintiff or the de-
tendant has tn merits of the case? It
lis inconceivably foolish
But there is one particular feature of
trials under our laws in the state Of New
York which, for absurdity. surpasses all
others. The parties ga in and try their
case and the loser desires to appeal. Now
1t would seem that the preparation Of one
paper ought to be enough to admonish
the other sides of his intention and to
bring the matter properly before the Ap-
pellate Court. 1t is not So The loser
may appeal from the judgment entered
against him and have the law reviewed
but if he desires to hav5 the weight of
evidence considered he must do something
more He must have an order entered
denying his motion to set aside the verdict
4 =, T..