The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1907-10-04
THE NORFOLK WEEKLY NEwsJoURNAL: FRIDAY OCTOBER A. 1907
NEED NEW COURT system
NORFOLK PEOPLE SAY FEES
SHOULD BE ABOLISHED.
AND OFFICERS PAID SALARIES

Go to the School Fund, Less Costs
and Fees for Officers.
Isn't Norfolk capable of working out
a rational system of punishment for
lawbreakers?
The recent row in police circles has
fixed public attention in the direction
of police court and If that public is
gazing with due diligence it Is pretty
apt to awaken to the need of police
court reform.
1t isn't men so much as It Is the
Norfolk system" of police court JUS
tice that Is arousing public criticism
when publicity happens to fall in the
direction Of the city hall court. The
Norfolk system of justice hasn't been
the work of any one man but has been
twisted around by custom until it is
tangle of unwritten law and practice.
The Norfolk system is the fee"
system. The police Judge receives no
salary but secures his pay from the
fees paid by police court prisoners.
The police court is governed by JUS
tice court rules in this respect, the
fees which in the latter case would go
to the constable being turned over to
the police officers in addition to their
regular salaries When a police court
prisoner is fined "$1 and costs" It
means that 81 goes to the school fund
and that Of the costs about SO goes to
the judge and about the same or
little more or less to the policeman.
Here are some of the indictments
that are returned against the Nor
folk SYSTEM"
That the fee system makes arrests
more or less a personal matter with
the officers; in lieu of salary the town
virtually turns its justice business over
to its court officers.
That it results in ridiculously low
fines. OF the nearly three score cases
tried since the first of May in only
five cases has the fine exceeded 50.
the fracture of any stringent code of
morality.
That wickedness is made Cheap" by
the uniform low fines. To be drunk
and disorderly" never means more
than a fine of a dollar or two and
costs" That severer cases of immor-
atty have never received greater pun
ishment than this low fine.
That the Jail sentence is an unknown
quantity.
That for months no prisoner
whether he paid his fine or no-has
ever been in Jail more than two or
three days.
That as the costs" are a private
matter among the officers bargain
rates" are made to men short of cash
That men arrested are released fire.
quently without being reported to po-
lice court.
That the fee proposition makes the
officers salary a matter of uncertain
ty
That the whole system affords abun-
dant opportunity for scandal to the
detriment of the force, feature that
is unjust to the officers themselves.
That prisoners do not always make
their fine payments in open court in
the presence of the Judge.
That the dignity of the city court Is
lowered by prisoners being permitted
to keep out Of jail by arranging to pay
the officers fees ION time" a fair
enough arrangement under the circum-
stances as only the officers have any
thing to lose.
And finally that it makes the Norfolk
police court resemble more an assess
ment booth than a real court of JUS
tice.
These are a few of the charges that
are made against a system that the
year 1907 has inherited.
The system isn't good business and
some of it's recent features show that
it hasn't tended towards good and har-
monious government.
Norfolk sentiment that wants to see
a reform advocates a new city law
providing that every cent paid into
police court in both fines and costs
should go into the school fund. Then
court officers would have no financial
interests in the cases before them.
More abstract justice would probably
flow out from the court room and few
er rumors adverse to the police would
arise.
When the city council meets Thurs
day evening it will take up the fee
question. The councilmen are going
to look into the matter, though how
decisive their action will be cannot
be foretold at this time.
Practically every proposal that has
been made so far with a view of TAX
ing the fees away from the police
court officers has carried with 1t pro-
vision for a general increase of SAL
aries to compensate for the amputa-
ton of the fees which would become
source of public revenue.
The police judge would have to be
made a salaried position II the fees
were taken away. The Norfolk chief
of police with the fee system is al