Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-09-02
AMERICAN BAR IN
ANNUAL SESSION
LAWYERS OF THE COUNTRY DIS
cuss MODERN LEGAL PRO-
BLEMS IN SEATTLE.
PRESIDENT SEES DANGER IN DE
CISIONS BY NEARLY EQUAL
LY DIVIDED COURTS.

LY DIVIDED COURTS.
Seattle, Wash Aug. 26.-The Amer
lean Bar association in annual SEES
sion here yesterday heard the annual
address of President j. NJ. Dickinson.
He entered upon a discussion o. the
legislative situation, so far as it re-
lates to the enactment of new laws,
in the various states of the union. He
said
Courts Should Give Justice.
"The administration of justice
should be by the courts alone.
1t is subversive of every idea of
Anglican civil liberty for the judge
to commit himself in any way to an
opinion until the clause shall have
been presented according to law.
This is the distinguishing feature be-
tween the accusatorial and the in
quisatorial trial, in which the judge
inquiries, becomes the prosecutor, and
at the same time is theoretically the
protector of the arraigned.
Much recent legislation of doubt
full constitutionality, congressional and
state, has been practically enforced
by provisions for heavy and cumu.
lative fines and Imprisonment, de-
vised in some cases expressly for the
purpose of preventing a resort to the
courts for relief. When the highest
courts of the land, not exceptionally,
but with a frequency that almost
makes it normal, divide on constitu-
tional questions, often determining
the result by a bare majority. law
yer will rarely, especially, when the
question is new, advise a client to
pursue course, which, by snbiecting
him to the possibility of paying cumu-
lative daily fines, and to imprison-
ment, may destroy him. Though
strongly persuaded. if not entirely
convinced, that the acts if contested
would be unconstitutional, he may
counsel submission to what he regards
as a taking of property without due
process of law and an imposition of
an oppressive and confiscatory bur
den rather than incur the hazard of
financial ruin. No government can
with impunity continue to exercise
such oppression. 1t is hold up by
the government itself, under the forms
of law. If pursued, it would pervert
all sense of justice and accustom the
minds of the people to the sanction
of wrong as practice of government.
The vice thus implanted would take
on new forms of legalized plumber
and surely destroy the integrity of
our institutions.
Railroads Face Danger
GA recent statute establishing the
compensation to be charged by rail
roads for the transportation of pas
sengers fixed the penalties at such
an amount for each lvercharge that,
if the railroad companies contested
the validity of the rates and failed to
establish their contention, they would
have run the hazard for forfeiture to
the state within year of the entire
railroad property within the state.
''In our zeal to have the law sym
metricaI, wise and clear, we may I'M
consciously assume the critical
rather than the judicial attitude to-
ward legislation and thus have our at
tention arrested more by its short
comings than by its excellence. No
one can examine all the statutes of
the states and of congress for any one
year, without being profoundly i'm
pressed by the deep, earnest, alert
purpose, generally manifested, to
promote the public good, and with
out reaching a conclusion that at no
time in our history has a higher
moral sense or a more enlightened
patriotism prevailed.
Courts Have Been Assaited.
For long time, prior to recent
years, judgments of courts, especially
those of final resort, were received
with the greatest respect. There was
in the minds of the American people
a profound regard for the judicial
department Of government. In vari-
Gus ways in recent times, and from
sources too influential with public
opinion to be ignored, the very foun-
dations have been assailed upon which
the stability of the courts rests.
Judicial judgments are not accorded
the same reception as formerly. In
dividual judges should be assailed if
they are corrupt, or incompetent. 1t
is no assault upon the institution to
attack them for such cases in a
proper way While impeachment
should not be lightly invoked, yet /:
is an indispensable safeguard. The
impeachment of judges properly pur
sued, would not undermine the con,
fidence in the institution any moro
than would unfrocking a priest de-
stroy reverence for the priesthood
Not a court, but the courts, are fire.
quently and fiercely attacked. Polit-
ical parties of all creeds have bowed
their heads in recognition OF dis
content, which if not general, at
least hears the aDpearauce of Dofen-