The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-07-07
APPELLATE COURT INJURIES.

Sometimes the decisions Of appellate
of patriotic citizens that they almost
despair Of the Republic. it was so IN
the Doodle cases in Missouri, where the
Supreme Court of that State made IL
self busy in ovorrulng the convictions
had by Mr. Folk, in his attempts to pu-
rify the grating political atmosphere
of ST. Louis Time after time when n
boodler was convicted, the Supreme
Court of Missouri would find reasons
for reversing the verdict. and IT seemed
an interminable task to get convictions
that would stick. And all over the
United States the appellate courts seem
actually to busy themselves more car
nestly in finding reasons for. reversing
judgments than for affirming them. II
would really seem as though the ap-
pcllate courts would do better public
service If they were not so Jealous in
looking up reasons for reversing cases
that come before them. Where sub,
stantial Justice has been done. and no
essential requirement of the law vio-
lated, il would seem that appellate
courts might fairly strain point in
favor of the action of the nisi prius
court and yielding due faith and credit
to It's judgments. The result would Ger.
tainly be far better than whore the ap.
pellate court appears to take pleasure
in reversing the case. doing it on some
thing that is not really essential and
where it does not appear that any IN
justice has, in fact been done.
The same routine was gone through
with in California IN the San Francisco
Doodle cases that was so discoura ging
in the Missouri Supreme Court in the
ST, Louis Doodle cases. The California
preme Court, seemed TO take pleasure
IN reversing trials and vacatIng con
yictions that had been had at infinite
trouble, expenditure of time, and cost
in money 1t does not appear in either
case that the public interests were
served by those reversals, or that any
substantial injustice was wrought upon
the accused in their convictions. On
The contrary, substantial justice was
done them. They deserved to he con.
victed, but the appellate courts found
some techuicality upon which they
could reverse, and they reversed ac-
cordingIy; Infinitely to the public dis
gust, and where there was, in fact,
about as much reason against the rul |
ing of the appellate court as in favor
of 1T, The doubt in such cases is al
ways given to the accused, whereas it |
would appear that in the appellate court,
al least, the public interest might have
some recognition
This whole matter is brought up anew
IN the reversal by the Supreme Court
of Tennessee of tho convictions in the
famous might rider cases. And no
ono can fail to sympathize with Attor-
ney-Gcneral Caldwell, who prosecuted
those cases TO conviction at the peril
Of his life, when he openly deuounces
the Judgment of the court, and scores
The members of that tribunal for their
action, After making all due allow
ances for the bitterness of disappoint
nent that the Attorney General must
IeeI IN having his work, done at such {
peril, with such patience, and through
such diligence. annulled by the ruling s
'f the Supreme Court, and allowing for {
he chagrin that an attorney naturally
,eels when case goes against him,
here still remains substantial justice
II the outburst of the AttorneyGeneral
where he stIgmatizes the reversal by the
supreme Court as ga judicial blunder
such as has not occurred for hundred
ears In Tennessee jurisprudence, "
lie aecords honesty and sincerity TO the
Judges. but he says. 1.-The God Of jus