The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-08-31

The Present Methods Lack EHIcIencyy
Expedition and Economy--Justice
Should Be Made as Inexpensive as
Possible and Should Not Be Made
Burdensome by Long Delay.
Hon. Wilbur A. Heisley, circuit court
Judge, has authorized the committee
OF the State Bar association to publish
the following statement Of his opinion
of the pending judiciary amendments
The Office of Judge Heisley will be
abolished at the expiration of his term
should the amendments be adopted.
At present he is one of the circuit
court judges, holding that court in
Essex county.
In stating his opinion in the form of
m Interview he said:
81 am in favor of them and want
20 see them passed despite the fact
that I would be affected by such an
outcome of the election. But that
would be little sacrifice, to my mind,
1f the judicial system Of the state
could be perfected in the manner in
tended. And every citizen of the
state should be educated up to a point
where he can differentiate between the
disadvantages to the poor man in the
present court system and the adyan-
tages of that embraced in the amend
ments.
ssTo my mind" stated Judge Heis-
ley, "a good judiciary system must
include at least three features-name-
~, efficiency, expedition and economy
efficiency in this, that the judges
should be possessed of integrity of
character, deep learning of the law
and judicial temperament; it should
be expeditions SO that the litigation
viii be ended-reach its ultimate con-
ciusion on appeal-as quickly as pos
sible- The laws delays are proverbial,
and the poor litigant with good cause
should not be tired out with appeals
which are almost endless under the
present system at the hands of a rich
and spiteful adversary.
SIT should be economical. Justice
should be made as inexpensive as pos
xfble because the poor and oppressed
are entitled to its protecting care equal
III with the opulent. 1t is obvious that
no judicial system will be perfect
without any flaw, and whether the
proposed change should be made is
not to depend upon its providing
perfect system. If the proposed sys-
tenn is better than the present system
IT should be adopted. 70 my mind,
speaking purely in the interest of The
litigant, not Of the legal profession,
the proposed changes are most desir-
able.
Sin order to give the layman a true
comprehension of the situation let me
describe first the present system and
its defects and then the proposed sys-
tenn.
AT present we have in every coun-
fy what are known as county courts.
They and the supreme court, which
sits at Trenton, exercise what is called
the law jurisdiction while the court
Of chancery exercises what is known
as the equity jurisdiction Every suit
is either law case or an equity case.
.'Under the present system if an ac-
fion is brought in the county courts,
which, Of course would be a law ac-
fion, an appeal may be taken from the
court where it is tried to the supreme
court at Trenton. The evidence taken
In the cause in the county court is re-
quired to be written out and printed in
book form for the use of the supreme
court.
s'In the course of time the case is
argued before the supreme court, but
Its determination is not final, because