The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1905-01-26
ANNUAL REPORT OF MUNIC-
IPAL COURT FORWARDED
TO MADISON.


The report for the Manitowoc county
municipal court for the year 1904, re-
Gently compiled and forwarded to the
secretary of state, in pursuance of the
$ tatutes providing that an annual re-
port from all courts in each county of
the state shall be made, shows that a
total of 146 cases came before the court
during the year and that of this num-
Der "a resulted in convictions.
In twenty.one prosecutions the de-
PENDANTS We're charged with felonies.
Fourteen of these cases did not result
in conviction In seven of these four
teen cases the state discontinued the
prosecution because of insufficient evil
dence or for other reasons that rendered
it advisable to drop the prosecution.
Four of the defendants charged with
felonies pleaded guilty and three were
bound over to the circuit courtfor trial.
In 125 cases the defendants were
charged with misdemeanors or lesser
offenses than those constituting felonies.
The offenses in large number of these
cases we're violations of city ordinances
Ia seventy nine of these minor cases the
defendants when arraigned In court
plead guilty to the Ctfenses charged
against them. In eight cases of this
class conviction resulted from the evi-
dence presented and in nine cases the
hearing resulted in acquittal. A tiial
by jury was demanded and held in four
of the cases in which the complaint
charged the defendants with misde
meanors and in three of these the jury
rendered "a verdict of guilty, while in
one verdict Of acqnittal was returned
The penalty in most of the minor cases
that resulted in conviction was the i'm
position of a fine which in most cases
was promptly paid. A comparatively
small number of those convicted We're
sentenced to Jail.
OF the total number of 146 cases that
came before the court drring the year,
eight We're not finally disposed of. In
three of these cases rs stated above, the
defendants were held for trial in circuit
court on charges of felony; and in five
other cases in which the charge was a
lesser one than felony the defendant
was also held to answer to the circuit
court.
The jurisdiction OF the municipal
court is co-extensive with the county.
The court has origina. jurisdiction in
all crimes committed in the county.
The record of the municipal court,
therefore, constitutes complete report
of all crimes prosecuted in the county,
for the cases that result in the binding
over of the defendants to the circuit
court whose jurisdiction extends in all
cases to the issuance of warrants for
arrest and the arraigument of prisoners
for pleading.
January 18th is the time fixed by law
for the filing of the annual reports of all
municipal courts in the state. How
ever the law imposes no penalty in case
of delay, and reports are not unfrequent
lv forwarded to Madison some time
after the date fixed by the statute. The
preparation of the report involves much
labor and painstaking accuracy and this
often renders delay unavoidable.
Considering the ratio of the total
number of cases on which prosecutions
were started or rather the total number
of convictions to the total population of
the county, the county's criminal record
for the past twelvemonth compares
favorably with that of the average
municipality of approximately the same
population. in this state or elsewhere,
and does not give occasion for con
templating the public morals with pessi
mistic alarm and lugubrious faces.
The municipal court rooms are in the
Wernecke and Schmitz block which
was visited by fire during the year.
Little damage resulted to the records Of
the court. but the furniture and fixtures
of the court rooms and some personal
belongings of the Judge and clerk were
partially destroyed. The damage to the
rooms was speedily repaired and they
are now better equipped than they Were
before the fire Next spring, on the
first Tuesday in April, "a municipal
Judge will be elected. The present in
cumbent, Judge Schenian, has an-
nounced his candidacy for re election.