The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-08-03

mined, there are three appeals in mat
ters involving the settlement of es-
tates and the property and persons OF
infants. Under the proposed system
there would be but two appeals, one
from the surrogate to the county
court and one from the county court
to the appellate division, and the leg
islature is authorized even to take
away the appellate jurisdiction of the
county court, so that litigants may
appeal direct from the surrogate to
the court of last resort if the legisla-
ture so enacts. az The legislature
may confer further appellate jurisdic-
ton upon the appeals division. This
needs an explanation 1t leaves the
matter for future legislatures as need
may arise. 90 The amendment gives
the appeals division such jurisdiction
as may be incident to the complete
determination of any cause on review,
saving the right Of trial by jury. At
present the court of errors and ap-
Ieals has no original Jurisdiction. 1t
hd0 oOhlCllhiCo UtCA 4uGSAIOAlC0 WhCln-
er 1t has power to dispose finally of
any cause or whether it must send
the case back with orders as to what
is to be done by the lower court. The
new provision meets this difficulty and
authorizes the appeals division to do
what is necessary for complete de-
termination of the cause. The pro-
vision reserving the right of trial by
jury is necessary for the reason that
the spirit Of our constitution requires
that the final determination of the
facts in trial at law shall be by a
jury. This provision is merely meant
to preserve the present right Of trial
by jury.
In short, the object of paragraph /
of section of the third amendment
is to simplify and shorten proceedings
on appeal.
Section 5, paragraph 2. The object
of this paragraph is to confer upon
the law division the present jurisdic-
ton of the supreme and circuit courts
and such further jurisdiction as the
legislature may choose to give it. 1t
Is necessary to provide in this way,
since the circuit courts will in name
cease to exist if the amendments are
adopted, and the supreme court will
become really supreme instead of be-
Ing mere name. The law division
is to be composed of seven judges in
stead of nine, as at present. Its func-
films will no ho
exercised by the supreme and circuit
court, except in appeals, which will go
direct to the appeals division. The
substantial change here seems to be
merely in name. Instead of the judges
being called justices of the supreme
court and circuit court judges, all will
be called justices of the supreme
court and will do the same trial work
as the circuit judges and supreme
court justices do now.
This paragraph, however, contains
one most important clause. The juris-
diction is to be exercised by the law
division in accordance with the rules
OF practice and procedure prescribed
by statute or, in the absence of statute,
by the supreme court. Our present
system Of practice and procedure is
based upon the old English practice
and procedure dating centuries ago,
with some notifications in the direc-
ton of greater simplicity and some
technicality made some fifty years ago.
Fhe present procedure is very tech
meal. For example, when man is
sued upon an ordinary book account or
promissory note the declaration, as It
is called-that is to say, the com
plant or state Of demand of the
plaintiff need not give the defendant