St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-12-01
More on Judicial Reform.

That the matter of reforming tn,
courts OF Vermont so as to reduce the
expense of the department Of justice anC
expedite the final adjudication of case:
taken before the courts is being earnestly
considered is evident by the number o.
papers discussing the matter. The
Rutland Herald shows that the Judges
of the supreme court in Vermont gave
an average of eighteen decisions each
during the past year, that in nine
states there are fewer decisions per
Judge than in Vermont and that in four
states the judges average about 100
decisions each a year. 1t believes the
increase of the number of judges Of the
supreme court to five was unnecessary.
The Bennington Banner and the Union
Journal believe the next legislature
should reduce the number of supreme
court Judges to three and the judges Of
the superior courts to five and compel
the municipal courts to hear all of the
cases within their jurisdiction to avoid
the payment Of Justice of the peace fees
there. The Montpelier Journal and the
Springfield Reporter present strong
arguments against any reduction in the
number ofjudges in the various courts
and especially the supreme court because
five members are necessary to give that
court proper dignity and to make its
decisions weighty enough to be properly
recognized throughout the country. To
this the Groton Times and some other
papers have replied that they believe the
supreme courts decisions should derive
their strength from their justice rather
than from the number of men making
them.
The CALIFORNIAN is inclined to accept
the argument of the papers against the
maintenance of SO large courts as the
stronger of these so far submitted. Dis
cussion of the courts and their pro-
ceedure is rather dangerous for one I'm
acquainted with the principles of law,
as most Vermont editors are, ourselves
included, still it seems reasonable for a
layman to ask the judicial department
of the state to show that the great in
creases in the court expenses of the state
have expedited or made more certain the
rendering OF justice in this state. 1t is
true the court dockets have been cleared
to some extent but that has been partial
ly accomplished by the disposition of the
judges to strike off cases that are never
intended for trial and have been kept on
the dockets for the sole purpose of
thwarting justice. There is also grow
ing disposition in Vermont courts to be
less influenced by mere technicalities and
thus to some extent expediting their
work. These conditions are the results
of the quality of the judges rather than
Of their number. With the dockets be-
ing cleared and reduced in size, as the adj
vocates of the larger courts assert, the
amount of work for each judge must
soon be diminished and the number of
judges could be reduced without delay.
ing the cases before the courts The
supreme court does not consider ques-
tons OF fact in connection with a case;
the facts in the case are presented in
the lower courts. The supreme court |
decides whether or not the rights under
the law Of the parties in litigation have
been violated and if they have order a
re trial. So it would hardly seem neces-
sary to have bulk to secure accuracy in
this class of work. The salary of a
Judge now is large enough (but they are
not over paid to secure a man whose
accuracy on these questions is as sure as
that Of a multitude.
These facts increase the demand for a
demonstration that the work of the Yer
mont supreme court cannot be safely.
accurately and promptly done by
smaller body of judges than it is at
present. Hit cannot no one will ask for
the change, if it can be done the state is
entitled to it.