The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-04-02
ROBERTSON DISkGREES
WITH JUDGE ROBINSON
Interpreters Fees as Bait for Loafers-.-Unpaid
Jury Duty-Poor Mans RightsRepublican
Party Cremation.

The suggestions made by Judge
Robinson for economizing in the Judi
ciary department. are, in my opinion,
absolutely wrong and ought to call
forth prompt disapproval by the bar"
said former Judge Robertson last even
ing.
As to the matter of interpreters, ]
think all will concede that they should
invariably be both competent and
honest. In order to secure the services
of such men it is necessary to furnish
them with regular employment. No
man with ability and self-respect will
loaf about the Court House day after
day on the chance of being employed
as occasion may require, at The rate of
five dollars per day of actual work,
and compete with the incapable and
interruptions who. unable to find
profitable employment elsewhere, would
be likely to be in the race for an in
terpreters fee.
Judge Robinson's next proposition is
that 1t is incumbent upon every citi-
zen to uphold the courts and to aid in
the enforcing of the penal laws. That
may be true but in working it out the
Judge would have few citizens who
are qualified jurors doing duty for the
benefit of a large population. mostly
alien, without pay or compensation.
els it not far more just to compel
every resident, whether he be citizen
or alien, to aid in the enforcement of
the law by paying taxes out of which
those who suffer the loss and incon-
venience of jury duty may be at least
partly compensated by the few dollars
of jury fees which the law now allows?
'It would be poor consolation to the
mechanic, the barber. the hackdriver
or the other who depends on his daily
earnings for the support of himself and
his family, after serving a whole term
as a juror in criminal cases, to be dis
charged with the thanks of the court
and told that he has done his duty as
a good citizen without pay.
s.The converse of Governor Carriers
position, that everyone VINO OBTAINS
any extra or special service or privi-
lege from the Government should pay
for it, is that everyone who is called
upon to perform any extra or special
work or services for the public good
such as jury duty-should be paid for
it.
Judge Robinson's third suggestion is
that in civil cases each party should
the full amount of jury fees
for the day at the commencement of
each day of the trial, instead of letting
the matter remain in allegiance till the
of the trial and then taxing
the costs against the losing side.
'Such practice would certainly give
the rich an undue advantage over the
poor. Comparatively few of the liti-
giants in our courts could afford to adj
vance daily twenty-four dollars to COW
er jury fees. Very often it is all they
can do to scrape together enough to
retain a lawyer even though the law
and Justice may. be on the poor mans
side 1t is no answer 20 say that he
can get just as fair a trial at the
hands of the judge as he can from a
jury. Certain it is that it would be
the rich man or corporation that would
most frequently want TO waive the jury.
And the reason is that he would feel
that he and his attorney would have
more influence with the judge than with
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