Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-25
REFORM WANTED N
COURT PRACTICE
General Movement Under Way
to Relieve Supreme Court
Of Much Work
REMOVE THE RIGHT OF APPEAL
Proposal to Limit the Cases Which
May Be Carried Up-rwo Methods
Proposed ~ Another Plan Would
Estop Reversals in Criminal Cases
Except When Guilt Is III Doubt.

| lature, looking to amending the laws
| as to new trials and the work Of the
courts. Attorney General Byers is
strongly in favor Of some effective leg :
/! islation to relieve the supreme court Of
much Of Its labor He believes that a
great. deal of the work coming to the
supreme courtson appea. could be bet
ter disposed of by the district judges,
and then the supreme Judges would
have more time for the actual work of
solving the big problem before them.
Some OF the bills introduced have the
approval Of the attorney general.
Representative Swift is father of a
bill, which the attorney general favors,
raising the limit from 500 to $500 for a
civil case which may be appealed to
the supreme court. This would cut a
great many petty cases. Mr.. Swift
| is also author Of another bill looking
to reform as follows:
1.-The mode of reviewing In the SUI
preme court any Judgment, action or
decision of the district court in a Grim
inal court is by appeal. An appeal can
only be taken from the final judgment.
and within one, year thereafter, and
then only when the offense charged is
greater than misdelneanor Either
the defendant or state may appeal"
Removal Of the right of appeal in
misdemeanors and other petty cases
would relieve the supreme court Of a
large amount Of labor that is absolute
~ useless now. OF different character
is a bill by Mr.. Clary, which provides
that a new trial in CT iminal case may
be granted when after the trial there
has been newly discovered evidence
material for the defendant, which he
could not with reasc nable diligence
have discovered and produced at the
trial"
bills which reach q vital point in caus-
ing delays i'm court work. The first
says that:
+ mo criminal case appealed to the
supreme court shall be- reversed except
when the court, on the entire case
presented. Is satisfied there is rea-
sonable doubt of the guilt OF the de-
PENDANT"
Another, getting at the same thing
in q different way, provides:
In the consideration Of appealed
criminal cases by the supreme court of
Iowa techrifcalities shall not be con-
sidered, and errors In rulings and de-.
cisions of the lower court shall be con-
sidered prejudicial only when they, ii,
the opinion of the supreme court, have
caused an erroneous judgment against
the defendant. No case shall be re :
versed except when; upon the whole
case presented, the court is satisfied
that substantial justice is not accom-
plished.''
The bills introduced in the senate
by Whipple on behalf Of the state bar
association have all been buried be-
yond resurrection by the judiciary
committee. They were all of small mo-
bment, having relation to court proceed
6ure and appeals; and the commits
tee decided that everything worth
passage has already been covered by
the. laws. In fact The feeling on the
COMMITTEES was that the state bar as
ISOLATION is in too small business COM
ing to the legislature with bills that
have little value or Importance and
that the bar associa tion ought to take
up more important matters.
Hereafter, II the bill which passed
the senate yesterday becomes law, it
|. will be an easy matter to find out just
what the state educational institutions
are costing the state, for the bill groups
into one place all the allowance for
annual support. The aggregate is over
half q million a year, yet last summer
when informa ton was sought on this
subject to offset partisan misrepresen-
tation concerning tile source OF the in
creased cost to the people of the state
of their state government, it was with
great difficulty that exact figures
could be ascertaine,l In fact the vot-
ers OF the state probably as yet are
not satisfied as to what the facts are,
SO many conflicting statements were
printed. In the Maytag bill all the reg
ular annual support funds are grouped
together 50 that it will always be very
clear as to what the colleges are re-
ceiving The bill does not make. any
change from present allowances.
The McManus bill desired by Ship
pers of malt liquors will probably be
passed by the senate at an early day
It has been made manifest that the
bill is purely business proposition,
and that the Iowa State Manufacturers
Association is earnestly backing the
bill. This association, which repre-
sents the large manufacturing interests
of the state. has sent out letters to
members and others urging the pass
age of the bill and distinctly stating
that if it was believed the bill would
add anything to the amount of malt
liquors consumed in the state it would
not be favored, bit that the desire is
not to open the way for greater sales
and consumption. The real purpose is
to place the Iowa manufacturers on an
equality with those OF other states At
present, under cover of the interstate
rules, the manufacturers Of other states
have exclusive right to do business in
sixty eight Of the counties of Iowa,
from which Iowa manufacturers are
excluded by the discrimination CT an
Iowa law. It Ia to place the Iowa
people on an equality with others that
the bill IL urged. Senator McManus is
. new member hut has handled this