The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-11-07
STILL
y
FORT
Argues for Order on Court
Clerk to Get DiSbarment
Proceedings.

TRENTON, Nov. alden Freeman is
keeping up his attack on former Supreme
Court Justice John Franklin Fort, the
Governor-elect. and yesterday with his
nlly. Charles A. Bloomfield, of Metuchen
appeared before the main branch of the
Supreme Court here, and through his
counsel, Harry Campton, of Newark,
argued for n mandamus to order William
Riker, jr., clerk Of the Supreme Court, to
allow an examination of the so-called
records in the old proceedings against
Judge Fort, when a young lawyer, ana
Joseph A. Beecher. Attorney-General Nc
Carter opposed the petition for access to
the records. Justices Hen%drickson. Swayze
and Trenchard were on the bench.
The proceedings were N the nature Of an
application for mandamus to compel the
Supreme Court Clerk to show cause why
the afidavlts In the disbarment proceed
ings against the soon to be Governor
should not be placed In the realm of public
View and examination. The application
was first made several weeks ago. final
hearing being deferred until the day after
election.
Mr.. Campton, In presenting the pleading
of Mr.. Freeman, said In part:
The only question seems now to be: Are
these affidavits public records? Now 1t Is
ptIlc'slty ttthT ludJ lJuQlOW h1t1dItcI IL
tended these affidavits to become and be
public records. He could do nothing more
10 make them public than by filing them
as he did In a public office, lin them as
he did, In the only place that these affi-
davits could be filed, the office of the clerk
of the court in which it was necessary for
them to be filed.
1t is perfectly proper to assume that Mr..
McCarter paid the fee required for such
filing, and that such affidavits were filed
Is conclusively established. These aftida-
Wits. then, are of record in the Office of
the clerk of this court, and therefore part
of the records of his court, and being 30
and of right ought to be public rec
ords. The clerk has no right IN law to
NIT them to be removed or withdrawn.
They are on file.
The clerk is required by law to preserve
these aff1davits, to make docket entries
concerning them and to make them records
of his Office. He must have entered the
receipt or record of them on his docket,
stitute a record. How else could he find
them? A docket is intended to be the
record of a case until a more extended one
is made. Estate vs.. Simpson, 80 Ali. 1861
Courts are established by the people and
supported by the public and all their rec
ords are public records. The judicial off,
Ger. The clerk, duly received and filed these
af1davits and the clear intent of such
filing was to make PUBLIC record thereof.
The public paid the CLERK for this duty.
The public by the relator Is now willing
70 pay the clerk TOT copies OF IneSe am
d~avits-these records of his o~ffice-these
public records. Thu relator not only for
himself. but for the public good, asks for
copies of these a~f1davits, requests certified
copies thereof from the clerk of this court,
a ministerial officer whose duty it Is to
make such certified copies and from whom
such certified copies can alone be obtained.
The Acknowledgement made the same
argument that has been made against
granting Mr.. Freeman's demand since II
xuaa HrCf T1aado IL uo4d fhof kIa m a .l4
were part OF legal proceedings that were
contaminated, and he said that they
were now wanted for the purpose Of max
ing partisan political capital. He said
that to allow access to them would estab-
lish a dangerous precedent, whereby poll
ticians would hereafter rave authority to
demand records of unfinished cases to use
in attacking the characters of m in pub
lie life.