The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-10-27

first before a court of five judges.
But while it was pending bill was
rushed through the legislature in
creasing the court to seven men,
bers, and the case was reargued be-
fore the larger court.
Now, in most factory act cases
there are two defendants, though
only one appears of record. One is
the mill company, the other is the
insurance company insuring the
mill company against accidents.
Keep this fact in mind when you
note who were the new judges ap-
pointed by the corporation messen-
ger boy governor nominated by the
Farrell bossed convention. They
were Milo A. Root of Seattle and
Herman d. Crow of Spokane.
Root was attorney for the
Aetna Indemnity Co. and the
Maryland Casualty Co. Crow
was attorney for the United
States Fidelity e Casualty Co.
The fact that both thought the
rule laid down In the Green
case wrong was known to cor
poration lawyers, and they
were appointed on the recon-
mendation of corporation law
yers.
Then what happened? When the
case was reargued before the ell
larged court, 10 prominent corpora
ton lawyers Joined in brief ask
ing the reversal of the Green case.
This brief was not served upon the
opposing council. but copies of it
were sent privately to each of the
seven judges. The case was vigor.
ously argued, and as vigorously dis
cussed by the court. In deciding it
the court divided, four to three. The
four old judges who had joined in
the Green decision upheld the
Green rule.
But the three new judges-Rud-
kin, who was nominated by the Far
reIl convention, and Root and Grow,
who were appointed by the gov
ernor nominated by that convention,
dissented, and tried to get the court
to reverse that rule.
Root, in particular, was very Wig
orous in his dissent. He wrote
dissenting opinion of 26 pages Of
masterful corporation logic, in
which he advanced two main propo-
sitions. One was that the rule laid
down in the Green case did not ap-
ply to the West & Slade mill case.
The other was that he rule laid
down in the Green case was wrong,
and should be reversed.
The majority opinion traced the
rule back to Taft, the original ill.,
ventor of the judicial temperament.
Root traced it even back of the Taft
decision to the English cases upon
which that decision was founded,
discarding Taft as an authority in
this language:
with due regard to the learned
and distinguished jurist. l am led
by an examination Of the cases to
believe that the English cases do
not sustain his position"
Stare decisis is Latin term
meaning, "Don't discuss this ques-
ton; 1t has been decided" The
Washington supreme court, in re-
fusing to reverse the rule laid down
in the Noble case, gave it new
meaning: "We're wrong on this
rule, but we'll stay wrong rather
than get right" Judge Root in his
opinion in this West e. SIade case
sought to give It still another mean
ing: "We've been right on this
question before; let US now get
wrong" Thus are legal decisions
based upon precedent.
This direct assault on the Green
rule of the law of the killed and
wounded failed, but the judges it
elevated to the bench proved useful
in getting other decisions desired
by special interests. Tomorrow's
story will tell of the reversal of the
law, Stop, look and listen"