Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-16
DIVORCE LAWS
CONDEMNED BY
LAWYER HELM
ABLE PAPERS READ BEFORE
BAR ASSOCIATION
MEDICAL EXPERTS OBJECT OF
SEVERE CRITICISM
Dr.. A. s. Loblneier CaustlcaIIy Refers
to Practice of Hiring Physi-
clans to Testify for Par
ticular Side

concerning the modern medical ex-
pert" by DIR. Andrew Stewart Lobin-
gier; concerning the niche filled in state
Judiciary circles by the recently organ
lied appellate court, by Justice Lucien
Shaw, a member of that bench, and
statements concerning the early his
tory of the bar in Southern California
by J. A. Graves, vice president OF the
Farmers and Merchants National bank.
Four mere scholarly and exhaustive
papers could scarcely have been pre-
pared covering the given ground than
were those presented before the 200
attorneys assembled. AS special guests
Of the evening, besides Mr.. Graves and
DR.. Lobingier, were the members OF
the supreme court of the state, Justices
w. II. Beatty, F. M. Angelotti, w. A
Lorigan and Henry A. Melvin. JUS
tices f. NJ Henshaw and Lucien Shaw
were unable to attend and the paper
prepared by the latter was read by his
son, Hartley Shaw, Of the district at
torneys office.
Discusses Divorce
In presenting the entertainment of
the evening at the conclusion of the
banquet President Helm took occasion
to make some pertinent remarks anent
POINTS of law of current interest and
Importance, the principal one concern
ing divorce and the laws governing 1t.
After reviewing some of the GROUNDS
which may reasonably be offered for
the granting of a divorce, Mr.. Helm
said: There is, however, a great deal
of distinction between causes for which
divorces may be granted and the pro-
cedure by which they may be obtained.
Recently rules have been promulgated
by one of the judges against the rail-
Ioading of default divorce cases, and
this Is a step in the right direction.
ArN fnT
state. puts up at hotel long enough to
establish a legal residence, calls the de-
fendant in the action by means of pub
lication in a newspaper of which de-
fendaflt has never heard and never
sees, makes proof with two or three
conniVing witnesses, secures a decree
and takes the next train back to his
home, is committing fraud upon the
courts, and a divorce thus obtained is
void and should be so declared. I am
opposed to every act that will render
the securing of a divorce a mere matter
of form and give to us the inVidious
distinction of having established what
eastern lawyers sarcastically refer to
as our divorce court 1 am advised
lawyers in Los Angeles having eastern
correspondents are even now receiving
inquiries on what terms and how rap
idly and quietly divorces can be OBJ
tained in Los Angeles"
DepIores Legal Delays
President Helm spoke very positive
ly against the growing tendency to
hamper the administration of justice
with long and technical delays, entail
ing heavy expense and the serious i'm
pediment of justice. He recommended
as a possible means of relief that fine
law points be submitted to the court
for inspection, rather than that they be
-1I 70 t,,f. 4r5a -
cases. delaying and befogging jurors.
He also paid his compliments to the
system of charging for stenographic
fees, which, according to the figures he
used, are twice as high in some particu-
lars here as elsewhere.
In closing the speaker said: "a re-
cent writer has said when we begin
to grope for precedents our decadence
cannot long be delayed. Cases should
be presented and decided, supported by
reason as we'll as precedent. We are
forced to feel and to seek forever in
the whirl of human aims, endeavors
and interests, the right way, and when
1t is found-to overthrow every OBJ
stacle that can impede its course AS
it is with craftsmanship 1t should be
with lawyers and judges. They should
have a vision, and with that put forth
ideas and give reasons above all else
for their actions and their decisions.
In this way they escape criticism"
Tells of Appellate Court
Justice Shaw's paper dealt largely
with statistics concerning the work of
the appellate court since it's establish
ment four years ago and showed con-
clusively the immense service to law
and justice the members of the court
have rendered. He showed how, al
Al l,oY. ,f
piled up before the court got into work.
ing order, all these have been cleared
away and the appellate justices are
now up with their calendars. That the
work done by these members of the
bench is thorough is proved, accord
ing to Judge Shaw, by the fact that
almost a trif1ing per cent of cases de-
cided by the appellate court are sue
cessfully appealed thence to the su-
preme court.
DIR. Lobingiers paper was a scathing
attack on the present medical expert
system in vogue in the courts Of Amer
lea. For the deplorable condition he
found he ascribed the blame partly to
the legal and partly to his own pro
fession. He said that medical men of
repute and dignity hesitate to go on the
witness stand because of the embar-
rassment and even indignity to which
hand, he admitted his own profession
supports, however unwillingly large
number of parasites willing and ready
to qualify as medical experts and to
go on the stand-in consideration of
certain fee-to testify to any given set
of facts cheerfully and with minute
accuracy of detail.
In brief, DR.. Lobingier said:
Testimony Purchasabe
For more than a generation the tes'
timony of medical expert has been
a purchasable commodity. Instead of
factor of value in the procuring of
justice he has become an object of
ridicule and contempt
There are several obvious reasons
for this condition, among them-frst,
the method of choosing them, where
he becomes at once a victim of bias
and an advocate of the side that pays
him; second, he is not selected ON ac-
count of any special fitness but be-
cause he will prove a strong partisan
of a particular side of the cause; third,
the discourteous methods of counsel in
cross-eXamination creates an aversion
on the part of medical men for ap-
pearance on the witness stand, the re-
suit being that the best talent is not
obtainable and the choice must lie
amongst inferior minds, If not-as fire.
onentlv Ia seen-amongSt actual pre-