Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-04-16
ADDISON COUNTY COURT.
The Longest Term Held Since
County Organized.


The December term of the Superior
Court for Addison County came to
close at 1926 o'clock last Saturday fore
noon, when, by direction of Judge Zed s.
Stanton, Sheriff DIN A. Smith declared
the term adjourned without day. And
so the surmises and predictions of many
wiseacres that the December term would
OVERT ow the inevitable June term failed
to be verified.
But 1t was nevertheless long term,
being in session constructively for four
months and ten days. excluding Sundays.
Recesses were taken from time to time
for various reasons which figured up to
ten weeks and half out of the 90 weeks
of the term. The longest recess was Of
nearly four weeks, covering the time
from December to December %, and
this was recessitated by the absence of
numerous attorneys engaged in the forth
coming cases who were members of the
famous legislature of the past fall and
winter. After short session from
December 2S to January 9 a doubled tip
recess was taken until January %, this
interruption being forced by the drafting
of Judge Stanton to sit with the Supreme
Court in Montpelier in place of Judge
George NJ. Powers of Morrisville, who
had just been transferred from the
Superior Court to the Supreme Court
bench and was consequently disqualified
from sitting in the Supreme Court during
the arguments in cases which had been
tried before him in the lower court. The
same legislature was responsible for this
transfer and consequent disarrangment
of the court programme in Addison
county.
Judge Stanton had long ago, or Just
after his promotion to the bench, been
assigned to open the March term of court
for Washington county at Montpelier on
March 8 and he had to go, 30 that on
February 20 he ordered recess until
that date, with the understanding that
our other new judge, F. NJ. Butler of
Rutland, would finish up the term.
Judge Butler opened the adjourned
term on March Sth and kept things NOV
ing pretty well until he was compelled
to be absent from last Thursday for the
rest of the term.
Judge Stanton arrived from Montpelier
on the flyer Friday afternoon, and aside
from few ordinary motions, had seri- |
GUS matter to hear. This was a motion |
to set aside the verdict and grant a new |
trial in the case of Noah Lathrop VS..
Frank G. Lavarn, the Bristol land case |
in which the jury six weeks ago brought |
in verdict for the defendant to recover |
his costs. The matter was presented to |
the court on the two grounds that the |
verdict was contradictory of the evidence |
and that it should be mistrial on |
account of the misconduct of two of the |
jurymen sitting on the case, who were
Van Ness Dearborn of Lincoln and d. A.
LaDue of Orwell. These iurymen were
charged in numerous affidavits with
having stated during the trial and after
its conclusion that Lathrop was a erich
old cuss" and ought to be beaten, while
Lavarn was a poor boy and deserved to
win. These statements were as distinctly
denied in affidavits made for the other
side, including the sworn statements of
the two accused jurymen themselves.
This discussion took up practically all
of the Friday session and the court did
not come in again until about 10 o'clock
on Saturday morning, as every one was
excited and worried about the fire and
its possibilities for further immediate and
serious destruction and calamities. When
the court came in that morning the final
business of consequence was the iudg-
ment in the Lathrop vs.. Lavarn case
and the court denied and overruled the
motion to set aside the verdict and grant
A new trial. Frank L. Fish of Vergennes
Tor the plaintiff made an able and skill
full effort on the motion to set aside and
w. H. Davis of Middlebury WAS the
pleader for Lavarn's side. Each gentle
man is entitled to much credit for the
ability with which his side of the case
was presented. Prior to his taking his
asst recess for the term Judge Butler had
On Thursday evening ordered the Yer
5ennes Ketcham vs. Ketcham divorce
'quabble transferred to the June term
With mandate for Mr.. Ketcham to pay
Mrs. Ketcham $50 per week rs temporary
ilimony during the interim.
This was the longest term on record of
he Addison County Court and probably
II that of any county in the State. The
petit jurors drew 81 days and the total
cost for their services was 1864, which
overs the mileage. The grand jury
we're paid in all 81 1886. An immense
Iuantity of work was got through with
Turing the term. Notwithstanding the
requent and vexatious enforced vaca-
ions. Four of the civil cases which were
ried by jury averaged ten days of court
lme each and there was another case
hat exhausted six days.
The guessers are now wondering what
hey will be able to find to at the
apidly approaching June term, but there
will no doubt be something.
Judges Stanton and Butler had the
novel experience of holding their first
erms of court in Addison County at one
ERIN of the court and the first term
'lther of them ever sat on the bench of
'ermonts new Superior Court.