The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-12-25
CHILDREN'S COURTS REFORM
y TF4DI SERI ICE or JUSTICES
roo wren. Rt SSELL SAYS.
thicf Justice Of special sessions n cpiics
TO criticisms Of His assignments
cites Two Gases Explains the S,S-
trmatiIing In Present Rush work.

cites Two Gases ENpla ins the SyS-
trmatiZing In Present Rush work .
! The committee on criminal courts Of
the Charity Organization Society, which
is working for the establishment in New
York os children's courts on what they
consider modern lines. has scnt lcttCr
| to Chief Justice Isaac Franklin Russell
! Of the Court of Special Sessions urging
! the Abandonment Of his schedule Of
sittings whereby seven Justices alternate
I between the four childrcn's courts in
] Creator New York and the Court of Special
Sessions. 1t urges instead the appoint
mrnt of one JustiC" for each children \
| court
! The le;t"r says that Justices Olnsted.
Moss and lIoyt are To sit for seven terms
! in th" Manhattan childron's court in the
/ year, the various sittings being one two
and three months long The Page law.
| under which the Childron'S courts now
| oIi"rate. is quoted aS providing for the
appointment bv the Chief Justice of Jus
ticcS for a substantial period and selected
| for their fitness The letter continues;
| ave do not know what considerations
have led You to make assignments of this
| kind which seem 50 totally at variance
with the spirit and indeed the letter of
| the Page law Bv no stretch of the
! Imagination does it seem to III that the
| assignment. which have just been quot ed
can he deemed to be assignments for
that the purpose of the Page law in this
provision was to assign to the Children =
Court. 50 far "a possible "A Judge who
=
of his time 10 the work Of that court
! The letter instances Washington, Balti-
more. Boston. Chicago Denver, Mil
waukee and St Louis as cities whose
childreu's courts are in the Charg" of
special judges. experts with special
qualifications for this work. and mentions
Judge Julian W Mack of the United
States Commerce Court, Judg" Ben
lindsey Miss Jane Addams and Bernard
FleNner as the advocates of this system
The Justice should Ice NOR" than a
trained lawyer and Judge. the ett"r
saws His a'titud" toward tn" child
should ho that of father. SO far as IS
possible a given child should appear
every tim" il is brought to court. before
ia" same Judge. and this is only possible
lv continuity of service Finally the
letter urges that the Judge who devotpe
all his time To the thildren's Court vii
reali2" ,ts imperfcciions and devote his
, energy Ia getting improvements as an
orner viii not
The letter is signed hv Bronson Win
r throp. chairman of tn" committee. nnc
, n asks the chief Justice what he's going
10 do about IN" old plan and m" new
, Justice Russell has replied in IA ter
page letter He said One reas m why
no single Justice has been assigned tC
sit continuously throughout the year al
z the Children = Court in New York l. tha
the Chief Justice knows of no member
! of tho court who would he willing to take
such an assignment Experience shows
that with rare exceptions II II unsafe tt
prolong the period of service without res
4 beyond that apparently brief period
\ The system Of probation to which We arr
, now limited il far shor, of an ideal pro
bationary system Judge Lindsey o
Denver, with an average of 200 cases or
I his calendar. can easily he his own pro
I baton officer Such thing is impossible
: in New YORK with a calendar of 900 cases
, Il month
The strain and stress Of service fol
a longer period than two months vii
: make themselves felt in any judge whC
+, whether father or not has the humane
= impulses and sentiments which should
ulSI lEulSu al lll' "'rh'lS III JbN'Hll'
= courts
10 Tn" Justice writes that tho schedule
for next year shows m advance towarC
I spocia li2ation and continuity Of judiCia
o scrvIc" hitherto unparalleled in New
. York Prior To- 1911 no judge ever sa
' IN tn" Children Court of New York
Il county for as long a period as three
months except on one occasion. whlCf
served aS "A warning to the appointing
power that such an assignment wa
p"rllous to the service. In 1911 this cN
= pertinent was repeated in one instance
resulting IN enforcing this sam" con
vlCtIru
The Justice SAYS in another part Of tn
- lett IN answer to the CrItlrlsm that saCl
o lChlld case receives Cnlv three minute
- from III" Judge in the thrr" hour dali
~ sessions of the court, that many dcvlC"
>, such 4 the color and shape of he NariOu
" papers enable the presiding Magistrat
u at "A glance to comprehend very fully N
d exact uatur. of the matter leforo tn
Is Uorut
= For myself ! am bold to say that haV
never felt that any better results could h
!. secured hv a larger expenditure Of time,
Is he SAYS "Rud" and discretionary lustiC
n is never summarily administered.
IF Chief Justice Russell then suggests tina
- "A plan may ho evolved of having -four Iur
" tiCes set apart to alternate III the thl
J" dron = courts of four boroughs of the city