The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-19
DEFECTS
 IN CRIMINAL LAW Attorney General Bonaparte
 Talks On Needs Of Change TACTICS ARE DILAT0RY
The Endless Delays In Bringing cpimi- nal Cases to Trial Are Deplored By 5onaparte In an Ad-
 dress at Pittsburg.

Pittsburg. November 1s-That the American criminal law has very serious defects and that If the American people wish to rule they must thoroughly, ra- tonally and honestly recast the crim- inal law" were asserted by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte in his ad- dress as president of the National Muni- cipal league before the annual meeting of the body in this city tonight.
 His subject was "The Criminal Law as a Means to Enforce the Peoples Will"
 MT. Bonaparte answered MT. Bryans campaign slogan, Shall the People Ruler" by saying:
 'Yes,- if and in so far as the people shall be in earnest in the wish and purpose to rule. He declared that the gravest and least excusable deficiency in our criminal law is found in its endless delays, and added that if the people shall demand prompt and unquestoning obedi- ence to the peoples laws and shall give to this demand an ample sanction in swift, sure and grievous retribution for all rebellious to their laws, the peoples rule will be real.
 "Why need there be a foretaste of eternity" he asked, between arrest and indictment, another between indict- ment and trial and yet another between trial and actual punishment?'
 This he answered by declaringsthat it is partly because the bench and profes- sionaI opinion among the bar tolerate all kinds of dilatory. frivolous and often ridiculous proceedings on the part of the interruptions counsel intended to cheat justice of her plain duty; partly because our lawmakers afford almost infinite facil- tiles for review of judicial action to the criminal; although being stingy in al- lowing them to the government, but mainly because our laws show little sense of value to society of a speedy admins tration of justice"
 He declared that, neglecting exceptional contingencies, it may be said that there are four forms of compulsion available to a cor i.asnity against it's rebelious mem- penalties, social degradation, the exercise of military or quasi military forces and punishment through the criminal laws.
 "Of these all four are constantly and extensively employed in all civilized coun- tries at the present day. he said, and it may be doubted whether civilization, as We know it, would continue to exist were any of them abandoned; but only the last two are within the sphere of political and legal action.'
 The legitimate problems of the criminal law, he said are two. First, to find out when and by who the peoples will has been disobeyed, and second, to so deal with the one guilty of such disobedience that others and ordinarily himself as we'll may be taught to obey in future.
 "As an instrument to these ends,' he then declared, q thing American criminal law today has very serious defects; in fact, that in large measure it fails of its purpose.
 "A principal cause of this failure, to my mind" he continued, ''is it's anxiety to guard against danger which was once very serious but which has now become almost chimerical. the danger lest men really innocent be convicted of crime.'
 He asserted that "the risk that any man trying in good faith to obey the law shall be punished as a criminal is almost inconceivably small"
 "I question:, = ne Addeu, whether IL IS enc hundredth part as great as the risk he runs of being killed or maimed by au- tomobie"
 He expressed the opinion, however, that he would not have the law so changed as to remove any substantial safeguard to true innocence which it now affords. He declared himself in favor of grand juries and of the law that prevents a man once fairly and properly tried for a crime and either convicted or acquitted from being brought to trial again for the same of fense. He declared that "one of the most enlightened changes made by modern statutes in the rules of evidence permits the accused to testify in his own behalf"
 He concluded by declaring that the peo- pie can rule if they are in earnest and wish to rule, And to show his earnest ness, he said. ito assure this genuine and lasting supremacy, the American peo- pie must thoroughly. rationally and hon. estly recast their criminal laws"