New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-04-01
COURT RELIEF NEEDED.
CHANCE OF WELLS BILL.
Little Hope for Lac Improving Nv
nicipQL Justices Condition.

With Municipal Court justice with shattered
health. iTo or three more on the verge OF Dfeak-
down and the poor men IS courts so crowded That
poor man get justice. there IS little sup
port given 20 the Wells Assembly hi 10 reorganize
the Municipal Court Of this city. The Municipal
Court justice is about half OF the o!dtime jus
tees 81 the peace-that IS. he has all that ofiicaI $
civil powers and a few added ones, while the
police court magistrates have MS criminal juTisdic
tion.
The work the Municipal Court justices have to
do, especially since their scope increased not
long ago. is varied. II landlord wants to dis
possess tenant; if poor man wants 10 collect a
few days wages which are being held out. he
goes TO OF them. Violations of the rules Of
the various city departments-ln fact al civil suits
involving $500 less-go 10 these courts. Hun
dTeds and hundreds OF these cases turn up every
day, and when The fourteen justices were all
at work il impossible 50 give the cases any
where near the consideration that they should have
and snap judgment on the seeming merits OF each
case is the best the ntigant expect from the
most conscientious justice.
In three yea the business of the municipal
courts has Increased almost 80 per cent. IN 1908
there We're not including landlord and tenant cases.
AO22 paiG summOnses issued and 95sS free SUM
InonseS. In lG. three years later. G.6ll paid
mOnses and 1851 free summonses were issued.
part OF this increase is due. Of course. to the
natural increase in population. The great causes
however We're TWO recommendations by -the Laws
Delay Commission. both of which adopted.
from the Municipal Court 10 cry Court. aud
tte ~ ~ Wa u no COSTS cCuiu be recovered
80. ana no cosSs % Toe recovered IN the supreme
Court when the .ase INVOKED less than S50O
This threw all tneSe casea. constantly increasing;
IN hpmoer as ne CITY spread and grew, back on
me municipal courts, while X Increased neither the
number 81 justices nor any OF their facilities
work IA islJ more than - trials were held AMI
mort tlh -ev0 iqle3ts heslceS countless eX pdre
proceedings Of which he n%ures have not been
conpiled. Ia addition to- these. hundreds OF cases
We're removed from the calendars by lawyers VINO
gave up nope after Adjournment had followed ad-
up working past midnighs. night after night.
fo,ne are now only Tteen gsuess 10 cover
III FOR about year. Because of one OF the vaga-
BE TO iii Ms he' p frss be P NsGn It 25s
as We'll as making other material changes in the
Three courts in particular are an Understandable
court in 18TH street near Sylvan place t with the
ON District court in an Old IRE house in Clinton
Second avenue. pressing it close.
Here, day after day. men with claims small in
justice which is regularly dsnied to them at least
Until hn5iL 5ew hundred other cases have first been
through Interpreters. before justices alien in
side Is able to make Itself understood The plain
fiffs do not know what the justice wants know
The justice hears what the Interpreter tells him
IN half the cases MS verdict Is perhaps not what
II would be had he time 10 investigate tho case
oughly. AS matters stand now. he has the choice
either OF doing the best he can for the greatest
thoroughly. II he chose the latter course hun
dreas OF cases would never b. heard At all. the
justices are hearing as many they can, and
trusting to intuition much TO evidence to
give Justice None OF them are satisfied with this
kind OF work, but they "a is best that they
can do In the circumstances.
A municipal court Justice must Sit according 20
law from O'Clock To > o'clock. five days g week
in what time is left over he must consult his law
books and read briefs Some OF the briefs deal
ing with cases small in themselves but brought
TO test some important law or clause IN q statute
are prepared by the best known law firms in the
city. and have to be studied carefully. In other
civil courts q certain number Of Justices devote
Themselves to this work alone for a term. but tire
Municipal Court bench has to sandwich Il In with
their other work
The bill introduced by Assemblymsn Wells pro-
Nl0eS, among DINER changes. that the present Jus
tees shan hold their Offices for suon time they
were elected: that thaif number shall increased
at the general election fall from fourteen 10
twenty-iwo that their salaFar lsilaB he increased
from 1900 TO $500 a year: that a vacant court
may be supplied by Justice OF The court from
be elected in the case Of tlis perDasaent disability
Of justice.