The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-15
LAWYERS ADOPT
 RESOLUTIONS
Oppose Legislation Affect
 ing Jefferson Courts
MEETING OF THE BAR
Committee Reports That Advertise ment of Two Bills Now Before Legislature Is Defective.
 Amendment Opposed

Members of the Birmingham Bar as- sociation, as announced. met yesterday afternoon at o'clock at the court house for the purpose of hearing reso- lutions protesting against the abrdge- 1nent of the present terms of the courts of Jefferson county. The resolutions were prepared by committee appoint ed for this purpose at meeting Mon day and were unanimously adopted. | The import of yesterdays meeting Bar of their entire satisfaction with the present arrangement of the courts | of Jefferson county It was the general | opinion hat the system instituted with In the past few years has been proved successful and 1t was further consid- cred that the courts. being vested with a power for regulating the conditions will tend to adjust themselves
 The meeting yesterday afternoon was presided over by Attorney G. R. Harsh of the firm of Bowman. Harsh x Bed dow. The resolutions, which had been prepared by committee composed of J. c. Carmichael. James A. Mitchell,
 Francis M. Lowe and Capt. Frank $. White, were rea6 by Judge Carmichael, chairman. Next, statement, prepared as a minority report, was read by L. J. Haley, who decided not to offer 1t | to the consideration of the meeting, | but recommended certain changes in the present laws regulating the courts Sterling A. Wood made a motion that the report of Chairman Carmichael be adopted. Frank S. White offered as an amendment to the motion for adop- | tion, that copy of the resolutions be sent forward to members of the leg | islature After motion for an amend ment of the amendment by w. T. Stew art, which found no second. the motion for adoption was carried.
 The following is a copy of the reso- | lutions:
 To the Members of the Birming gham Bar:
 sider the two bills now pending before the legislature. affecting the terms and practice of the city court of Bir- | mingham, and of the circuit court of
 the Tenth circuit. and report upon the
 same. with recommendations. beg leave
 to report as follows:
 1. The members of the committee ars unanimous in the opinion that the ad- vertisement of both of said bills is
 defective and that no valid act car be passed under said advertisement Section 1o6 of the constitution of Ala
 bama provides that no special, private or local law shall be passed, on ans
 subject, except for fixing the time oi
 h holding courts. unless notice of the in-
 tention to apply therefor shall have
 been published. The notice of inten- tion to apply for the passage of the | laws is omitted in the advertisements under discussion. The advertisements simply purport, in each instance, to set forth a copy of an act; neither gives notice of an intention to apply to the | legislature for the passage of a bill | or law. An act Is a bill which has been duly passed by both houses of the legislature and has been approved | by the governor. For aught that ap- pears from the advertisements, the pro- posed laws have been enacted here tofore and the publication Is but an historical narrative or statement. We therefore recommend that no at tempt be made to amend the two bills except, as a precautionary measure, to strike out the provisions therein for a ,olx 70 .tc I,,,,t ,t,er the month of March of each term, in accordance with the resolution adopted by your meeting, held on February 13, 1911.
 g. A majority of your committee | Is of the opinion that the condition of the courts does not. at this time, re- quire any legislation. It appears that | the courts are gradually catching up
 with their dockets. and that in a short
 while cases will be reached for trial within short time after they have been commenced. When this desirable condition shall have been realized the courts in the exercise of their inherent powers. can so adjust the times and lengths of their recesses to subserve the convenience of the members of the
 bar as well as the interests of liti- gants If it should be made hereafter to appear to the courts that, in addi- tion to the week now taken by re- cess. during each call of our division in the supreme court. 1t would be de- sirable also to take a recess for the
 week just prsGeding each of the said
 calls. 1t seems reasonably certain that, | in a short time, the condition of the dockets in the courts will permit of such action. It is now less than four years since this bar appealed to the legislature to add two more judges to the city court. This relief has been granted and in our opinion no further relief is needed at this time. Respect | fully submitted.
 JOHN C. CARMICHAEL, Chairman. JAMES A MITCHELL, FRANCIS M. LOWE, FRANK s. WHITE
 Yielding Bound Over
 T<Ix~ AI.