Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1909-07-29
JUDGE SWAYzE
FAvORS REFORM.
Already Effective IN Most 81
the States.
THE CHANGES CONTEMPLATED,
The Learned Justice Of the Supreme
Court Gives In Detail the Various
Proposed Notifications Of the Exist
Ing Laws--An Effort to Make Law
Certain. Cheap and Expeditions. -

ing laWs---An EfTort to Make Law
Certain, Cheap and Expeditions. -
The following address on the pend.
Ing amendments to the state constitu-
ton was delivered before the New
Jersey Bar association at its last meet
ing in Atlantic City by Justice Francis
]. Swayze of the supreme court:
One of the most desirable things to
be accomplished is to lessen the evil
of the laws delay. The law ought to
be certain, cheap, expeditions. In most
of the affairs of life it is certain. Men
transact their business and hold their
property with comparatively little liti-
cation because they know the rule of
law which governs their conduct. OF
the millions of promissory notes given
in this country every year, of the mil
lions of sales of goods and chattels in
large and small amounts, of the mil
lions of other everyday transactions
deeds, mortgages, chattel mortgages
lawsuits as arise are more often due
to disputes about the facts than to
any difference in the rule of law which
governs. The titles to land are for
the most part settled, and we travel
the highways with little fear of as
sault or robbery because the law is
settled and the whole force of the
state backs it up. Such troubles as
arise are due to the new questions
which come up in society which is
becoming more and more complicated
and to slips in mere procedure.
1t is important that these questions
should be settled as speedily as pos
sible and settled upon their real mer-
its, hampered as little as possible by
techicalities of mere procedure. These
technicalities of procedure arose CEN
turtles ago and are the product of legal
notions quite different from those we
hold today. Experience has proved
that reform is needed, and reform has
come in England and in nearly all of
the states in this country except our
own. 1t is therefore worth while to
see what provision has been made in
the proposed amendments for more
simple and expeditions procedure and
the abolition of unnecessary appeals
which add to the expense of litigation
and give an undue advantage to the
litigant who has the longest purse.
The provisions which are likely to ef-
feet this result are contained in sec
ton 5 of the third amendment. They
make possible a reform similar to that
adopted in England in 1875, the
results of which were thus described
in 1887 by an eminent English Judge:
Every amendment can be made at
all times and all stages in any record,
pleading or proceeding that is requisite
for the purpose of deciding the real
matter in controversy. 1t may be as
serted without fear of contradiction
that it is not possible in the year 1887
for an honest litigant in her majestys
supreme ccurt to be defeated by any
mere technicality, any slip, any mis-
taken step in his litigation"
The proposed changes are as follows:
Section 5, paragraph /, of the third
amendment gives the appeals division
of the supreme court IL the appellate
jurisdiction heretofore possessed nv
the court of errors and anpeals f2l the
Jurisdiction heretofore nossessed hv
the supreme court ON writ Of error 5ea
the Jurisdiction heretofore nossossad lv
the prerogative court and bv the ordi.
nary on appeal, a. such further appel
late jurisdiction as NAV be conferred
upon it by law. (5) such original iurisl
diction as may be incident to the coml
plete determination of any cause On
review, saving, however. the right Of
trial by jury.
This language is necessarily tech.
nical and requires explanation
a. The first change is a change only
In the number Of Judges who win act
and in the name of the court. At pres
ent sixteen Judges NAV sit. the nnm.
Der is less only when some of The
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