Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-07-22
THE NEW MEXICO JUDICIARY.

Among the many subjects h a VIII
be- considered by the constitutional
convention none win be Of more im-
portance than that Of the judicial sys-
tenn Of the new state. II, above all
others, Is a question upon which too
much time and earnest thought cam
not b. put; for, as our Judiciary II
SO win be our laws.
We think hat we viii not be con-
tradictcd when we say that In order
TO have a good judicial system 1t Is
fundamentally requisite TO have good
judges. The question then arises:
How are we to obtain good judges?
The history Of the constitutions OF
the various states Of the Union shows
that almost every conceivable scheme
has been rcsorted TO In attempting TO
answer this question. In general,
three plans have been tried Popular
election, appointment, and election by
the legislature. All three nave been
tried In connection with both the SUI
preme court and district judges, The
first Is now most generally In use;
and, II use Is al all indicative of suc-
cess, Il seems to be the most success
ful. At this time The Optic has no
particular scheme TO advocate. We
do, however. wish TO offer some sug-
gestions that bear closely on another
phase OF this general subject.
At the outset, we are In favor Of
paying liberal salaries TO both our
district and supreme judges. II the
district plan IL adopted by the con-
vcntion, we think the district judges
should be paid az much as the SUI
premo judges. The former viii have
much work to do, while the latter
win have n comparatively easy time
OF II as far as actual working hours
are concerned. AZ "a starter. we would
suggest that the supreme mi district
Judges be paid not less than $4,000
each per annum and be given "A GER
tain amount with which TO defray the
expenses Of necessary travel.
Again. we are IN favor Of long
terms for the members OF both the
supreme and district benches, AZ
least six years should be the term and
twelve would not be too long. Long
terms. together with good salaries,
win insure able occupants. A good
lawyer is not going to consider n po-
sition on the bench for a single mos
ment II II does not pay him enough
to live on aud II Il does not last more
fi,an "a antnIn af Ncnre
The state of New Mexico wants
good judges. one way TO get them Is
to pay them well and give them Ions
terms Of officials Vegas Optic.
We heartily agree with the optic
that no subject IL OF more Importance
than that Of the iudicinl system OF
the new state. While our views are
the views OF the layman. the system
should be SO constructed as to be at
tractlvc to the best ability and high
est integrity 20 be found among the
bar. As to the term opinions may
differ slightly, when tho population
OF the state has reached six hundred
thousand. two additional supreme
judges should be added under proper
provision In the constitution, making
five In all As to the salaries, a Judge
should receive a sufficient salary 20
enable him TO live comfortably. edu-
cate his family, maintain his proper
position in the community and put
away "a reasonable saving for old age.
In addition the salary must be suffi-
Client 20 attract the best OF the law
yers. As 20 the amount II should be
we are not prepared 10 SAY even TO
our own satisfaction. but feel that
$1,000 "a year is little enough. The
judiciary must he independent and
retain the implicit confidence Of the
people. The construction OF our iu-
dlciai system requires most careful
consideration al the hands OF the
members OF the constitutional con-
Vcntlon. and H. one Of the strongest
uf the many strong reasons Why We
should send none but our ablest and