The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-07-28
THE LUSK COURT BILL
ATTORNEY JOHN LONDON'S RE-
SEARCHES ON THE SUBJECT.
Was One Measure Adopted by the
House and Another by the SEN
ate: History of Bill as
Learned by London.


Birmingham. July 27.-(speciaD-
| The Birmingham News this afternoon
prints the following:
/ All the strain of the judiciary ma
chinery of Alabama bears against one
crank pin. If the pin snaps-what?
The pin is the Lusk act rearranging
the judicial districts of the State
The question is, is there any Lusk
act in reality?
Did the Senate and House pass the
same bill, or was a different bill pass
ed by each body?
The act which appears in the acts of
the last Legislature, was undoubtedly
the bill passed by the Senate. But did
the House pass it or another bill diff
fering in some radical respect from it :?
John London. who has just completed
an exhaustive and careful eXamina-
ton of the journals of the House and
Senate, says: There are marked and
important differences between the
Senate bill as shown by the Senate
journal and in the published act and
the House bill as shown by the journal
of the House. The journal of the
House does not show that the Senate
substitute was ever acted on by the
House. Understand that / am not at
lacking the subject matter of the Lusk
act My inquiry has been directed
solely to the parliamentary procedure.
No inherent objection to either bill has
been suggested
The history of the bill or bills, as re-
vealed by Mr. London in his researches
is as follows:
The bill was originally introduced in
the House. but the House journal does
not show its original form. 1t was re-
ferred to the judiciary committee and
reported favorably with an amend
ment. The journal does not show the
nature of that amendment.
Subsequently the judiciary commit
tee offered a substitute for the bin in
the House, and that substitute is prin-
ted at length on pages 1914 ct seoul
tur of the House journal. It provided
Cor seventeen judicial districts
This substitute was considered in the
House, and was amended in various
narticularS the principal amendments
! being that the title. which was AN
act to amend article of chapter 10
! of the Code of Alabama was amend
| ed by inserting the Sections of the
code to be anne ended, as follows: So7
| sos, geo. 91i, 9l5. GIG, 9l7, and by strik
Ing out Sections S99. 9O1, 902. 9O3. 9O4
eO6 907. 900 and 9l1, and by striking
out Section 917 Cd, providing of rthe
| Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. page 1882
| If the journaD.
! The bill was further amended to pro-
| hibit the calling of special sessions of
/ he court in counties wherein are To-
Gated city courts exercising criminal
! Jurisdiction.
| The substitute, as amended was
| adopted. as shown by an entry on page
| ! S36 of the journal, which reads
THE substitute offered by the stand
| ing committee or judiciary. as amend
| ed was adopted"
The bill was then engrossed and
sent to the Senate. and message was
received from the Senate that it had
amended House bill No 1913 and pass
| ed the same 1t is worthy of note that
all reference, hereafter to the bill in
the Senate and House journals men
tions the number 1853.
The House n-concurred in the Sem
ate amendments and appointed n con-
ference committee. This conference
committee consisted of three members
from each house. and all the members
from the House and one member of the
Senate made n majority report recon-
mending that the Senate recede from
its amendments. The majority report
was concurred in by both houses al
though minority report signed by two
Senators recommended that the Senate
do not recede from it's amendments.
The House proceedings show that the
House received a message from the
Senate that il had concurred in the
ma iority report of the conference com
mittee. and that the Senate had con-
CURED in the House amendments to the
Senate bill" The ambiguity of the
language will he noted.
The House journal then shows that
House bill No. 763 was enrolled and
signed. The journal is silent as to any
IN Il
1t is necessary now to go back to the
beginning of the proceedings in the
Senate which bear on the bill.
The Senate journal page 1225I shows
the Senate received a MESA GO from the
House that the House had passed bill
1853. and the bill was referred to the
Judiciary Committee of the Senate and
WIS subsequently, ordered printed
Gage 1860 The bin WAS reported
favorably by the Judiciary Committee
of the Senate with a substitute.
Page 1865 shows mat the bill and
substitute were taken up for consider
alton. and that the substitute was
amended by transferring Lawrence
County from the Eighth to tho Six
teenth Judicial Circuit. by creating the
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit and by pro-
vding that if the jefferson county CON
solidated court bill became effective
the bill under consideration was not to
apply to the Tenth Judicial Circuit
The bill was then passed and sent to
the House and "A message was received
from the House that II had non-con-
CURED in the Senate amendments to the
bill The Senate insisted on its
amendments and a conference com
mittce was appointed to meet a similar
committee from the House.
A maiority Of the joint conference
committee reported that they recon-
mend"d that the Senate recede from its
amendments adding the Eighteenth
Judicial Circuit and taking Lawrence
County out of the Eighth Circuit and
putting it in the sixteenth Two Sen
ators made a minority report recon-
mending that the Senate do not re-