The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-09

 ON RECORDS Letter of Judge Thos. C.
 Jones. NORTHERN DISTRICT DOCKET Record of H7 Gases Often
 Excelled. It is Asserted by Judge Jones That Sometimes Court May Sit for Weeks and be Busy But
 .Dispose orr Nothing.
 


 crediting the present District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama with record surpassing all other Federal judges for sixteen months time in disposing of cases, have been noticed by Judge Thos. c. Jones' Judge of both the Northern and the Middle Districts
 Judre Jones has addressed a letter to The Advertiser on this subject. which Is printed below. In 1t he calls to task "the overzeaious friend' Of Judge Hundley, of Huntsville, for orig. mating such statements of judicial res cords. He calls attention to the fact that the sum of cases on the docket s.disposed" of in a given length of time is no criterion for either industry on the part of the presiding judge or or
 But in the matter of merely dispos- ing of cases or getting them on the docket" Judge Jones citess himseh and other judges who have served m the Northern District and disposed of cases outnumbering the reported re- cord of Judge Hundley or equaiuns such record.
 The letter follows.
 Montgomery. Ala, Aug. 8, 1sos- Editor The Advertiser.
 On August 1st just after the depar- tura from Huntsville of the Honorable District Judge for. the Northern Dis trfct on his summer vacation, specials were sent out from that city to some of inc chief daily newspapers In the State-The Advertiser among tnem- chroniclIng his Itinerary during nis ap- sence. and concluding with the state. ment that since his appointmen1 so the bench sixteen months ago, ne has in this State and in Florida disposed of 747 cases this being a record sur. rassing that of any other Federal Judge in the State for the same length of time"
 If any one but a judge were con. cerned, one would naturally coneiuas the statistics and comparisons emanat- ed from the person whose work was thus advertised to the detriment oI others. Ordinarily, one would ask how did 1t happen that newspaper repre- sentatives in the same city, were simul- taneousIy seized with curiosity as 10 these statistics and impressed with the idea that it was their duty to make comparisons thereon, at that particular timer
 Al Huntsville, no records were acc ,cessible, from which the reporters could figure out the exact number of ~casea disposed of" not only there, but at three other places in the district and also down in Florida, nor could they g1ean any statistics there as to the work of any @'other Federal judge" for the same length of time. not only In the Northern District, but in the Mid de District, upon which 10 base the comparative judgment as to the work of the different judges Fin this State. Whatever inferences might ordinar- fly be drawn from these circumstances are repeiled in this case by the strong presumption that a judge would nor launch such boasts in the newspapers about his record surpassing" that of "other judges.
 comparisons must therefore. be viewed solely Nas the thoughtiess work of some overzealous friend, who. if he ever ac- uuainted the judge with the results of his researches and comparisons, gave the matter out for publication to the industrious news-gatherer at Hunts vile, without his knowledge or consent. The writer however, Is one of the "other Federal judges" and since the matter has become a theme of news- paper discussion, may without impros priety now give the facts to thes pub lie.
 dle Districts in the first sixteen months of his service in the Northern District, from March 1, 1902. to July 1st, 1903, according to statistics obtained by checking up the dockets in the clerks ofiice, disposed of''; 751 cases, or four more than the exact number which Is held up as breaking all judicial records in Alabama. This was, accomplished in the Northern District although near ly one-half of that judge'b time, dur ing that same period of sixteen months, was employed in the Middle District. During that same period, as appears from like statistics. the Judge of the posed of'' 3e7 more eases in the did- de District. exclusive of bankruptcy cases, making a total of 1,1ls cases "disposed of'' by that judge in sixteen months work in both districts.
 Meaning of "DispOsed."
 Of course, the number of cases "dis- posed of" means only the number or cases, whatever their nature, gotten of the docket, however that result was brought about. The number of cases disposed of Is no test whatever of a judges efficiency or labor in hand ling the docket. No nisi prius judge. State or Federal, presiding over high court governed by formal procedure and practice. and dealing with the im- portant matters which come before our courts, ever actually decided TAT liti- gated cases in sixteen months.
 If a judge takes up misdemeanor docket. probably two-thirds of the de- fendants plead guilty, and in such cases as well as where a pol pross Is entered. the cases are disposed of"; so, when cases on the civil docket are dismissed or judgment taken by agree ment those cases are "disposed Of" A months time on the criminal docket will show i've or six times as many cases 'disposed off, as the same time devoted to the trial of civil cases in which there is much litigation.
 A judge frequent yworks many days on a case and does not "dispose of" 1t at all. In the Huffman ease at Huntsville, in which there were two mistrials, owin gto the insanity of juror and a third mistrial afterwards. the court was at work nearly three weeks, during which time it disposed of" nothing. as the case still remained on the docket. Sometimes heavy chancery case may require months work in digesting voluminous evidence and writing an opinion. to dispose of' that one case, as in Kessler vs. Ems. lev Land Company, which involved the title to the land on which a large part of the town of Ensiey is built. For these reasons the number of cases "dlsposed of'' is a wholly illusory meth- od for comparing the york of judges and is absolutely worthless as a stand ard of excellence.
 The writer is satisfied that the judge of the Northern District. like other judges who have worked there. has been earnest and hard working in dis posing of the docket. and takes pleas ure in so declaring. His over-zealous friend. however, does him injustice by getting specials sent out advertising q claim for "a record surpassing' all nthA~ fuHaaa Vs-lso bava xvarLad fp