The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1907-08-14
CRITICISMS OF COURTS

"The Outlook regards it dangerous practice to crt
else court decisions
Is this the view? Has not the administration of
justice suffered because of the absence of criticism? The
great of the people have regarded the admnisra
ton of justice thing apart something that they knew
little nothing about; and have left it exclusively to
lawyers and judges
Mobs and ynchngs generally due to popular
distrust of the administration of the law Is it vastly
better to have these of dissatisfaction frankly dis
cussed? This is the method generally rely upon in
America for discovering defects and providing remedies
1t is not safe to leave to lawyers alone the correction
of abuses in the administration Of justice Few, if any,
public corporate wrongs without the aid and
sanction of some lawyer Sometimes all the leading law
,yers OF city get mixed up with the wrongs
.planed of that lawyers from other states have to be
called in; witness recent experience in Philadelphia
Besides, political bosses and bad business have
secured the elevation of unworthy to the bench And
Judges only human beings subject to like passion
prejudices and failings other
Therefore the purity and efficiency Of the admnisra
tOn of justice require publicity and criticism Eminent
lawyers and judges recognize this
Sir Frederick Pollock of the most eminent English
lawyers in address delivered in this country few
years ago, said:
Our guiding principle is that justice ought to be
done in the light of day. and if I may somewhat alter
the words of my learned FRIEND Mr. Justice Holiness of
the supreme court of Washington, originally applied to
different context I'VE the whole of the deliberate
opinion that publicity is worth to society than it
costs !"
! Judge VIM HI. Taft in 1895, replying to criticisms
against the federal Judiciary account of it's part in the
suppression of the disturbances following the strikes and
boycotts inaugurated by Eugene V. Debs, said:
1.-the opportunity freely and publicly to crtcise
Judicial action is of vastly Importance to the body
polite than the immunity of courts and judges from
just aspersons and attacks Nothing tends to
der judges careful in their decisions and anxousy soc
tous do exact justice than the consciousness that every
of theirs is to be subjected the intelligent scrutiny
and candid criticism of their fellow Such criticism
is beneficial in proportion it is fair, dspassonate dis
eliminating and based knowledge of sound legal
principles
After referring to criticisms by lawyers, he proceeded
''But nonprofessional criticism also is by
without its uses if accompanied it often is, by
direct attack upon the judicial fairness and motives of
the occupants of the BENCH for if the law is but the
of sense the protest of many average
may evidence defect in judicial conclusion though
based the incest legal reasoning and profoundest
learning There are few men, whether they
judges for life for shorter term who do not prefer
to and hold the respect of ALL and who cannot be
reached and made pause and deliberate by hostile pub
lie criticism. In the of judges having life tenure
indeed their very independence makes the right freely
to comment their decisions of greater Importance be-
it is the only practical and available instrument in
the hands of free people to keep judges alive to the
reasonable demands of those they serve"