The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-07
SCORES THE "55 LITTLE PROBATE JUDGES OF CONN" /" New York Lawyer For Mrs. Curtiss--Lawrence Says They
 Play Into Each Others Hands Cites Judge Banks and Judge Nobbs as an Example of
 the System

logg. counsel for Mrs. Julia M. Cur tiss Lawrence, one of the four heirs | of the $6,680,6 620 estate left by the late | Mary e. Pinkney, sptnster, yesterday l devoted considerable time to discuss ing in court what he termed ''the fifty
 five little probate judges of the State
 of Connecticut" and during the argu-
 ment before Justice Gavegan in Spe-
 cial Term, Part I. of the Supreme
 Court, caused considerable amusement as he explained what he asserted was
 the method of procedure followed by
 some of the probate judges in sthat
 State.
 He declared that the "fifty-five Nt- tie probate judges had but limited jurisdiction and that they had sys- tenn of referring cases to each other
 when one of the number saw fit to act as lawyer before himself. MT. Kellogg said that in one case a cer- tain. probate judge appeared in his
 own court as counsel, asking to have himself appointed as conservator of a large estate-that of Mrs. Lawrence and then requested the clerk to refer the matter to another probate judge. Mir Kellogg said that the nedghborly probate judge appointed the other pro- bate judge conservator of the large estate
 That's the way they do it in Con- necticut,'' exclaimed MT. Kellogg. and added: These fifty-five or more Ht-
 tie probate judges over there have a 1 happy way of doing business for them selves"
 During the course of his argument
 the lawyer went more into detail and named the Probate Judge who, he as
 serted, was wrongfully appointed one
 of the committee of Mrs. Curthss' es-
 tate She was recently married to a Mr. Lawrence.
 The estate of Mrs. Lawrence and the troubles arising out of 1t have been before the courts Of this State and Connecticut many times, but yester- day new motion was made when counsel for the Mount Morris Bank applied to Justice Gavegany for per-
 mission to pay into the hands of the
 court here some $S1 ,000 which is on
 deposit with it as @ trust fund.- It
 was said that the money was claimed by Mrs. Lawrence personally, by Pro- bate Judge Fillmore S. Banks of Con- necticut as committee of the property of Julia M. Curtiss. now Mrs. Law renee, and by the executor of the es-
 bank asked the court to take charge of the money, as it was willing to SEQ 1t turned over to whom ever the court decided was entitled to receive it.
 Counsel for Judge Banks contended that Mrs Lawrence was not entitled to receive the money, as Judge Banks was the committee of her property, as she had been declared to be an incom potent by the Probate Court in Con- necticut Counsel also objected to MT. Kellogg appearing, asserting that he had no standing in court, as Mrs. Lawrence was an incompetent. MT. Kellogg exclaimed:
 hi State. She is as sane as l or your Honor. She is a bright, intelligent woman, who has an income of $1OO,- 900 a year, besides other property that they are seeking to keep from her cOntrO.f'
 MT. Kellogg said that Mrs. Law renee was in every respect fit per- son to have control of her own prop erty. He said that the litigation in Connecticut had been dragged on for many months and there was no pros pect of bringing it to an end.
 Counsel for MT. Banks denied this assertion and said that the delay had been caused because Mrs. Curtiss, as he called her, had broken her parole. He said that many months ago she was permitted by the Connecticut court to come here to attend to some personal matters upon her parole to return to that State. He said that she had failed to return. Counsel further said that both the courts of this State and Connecticut had sus- tained the appointment of Judge Banks as the committee of her estate as regular and proper. He said that the courts of this State, after a full hearing, had directed that Mrs Cur tiss submit herself to the authority of the Connecticut courts
 The lawyer added: Certain per- sons have been advising her not to return to Connecticut" and he said that he considered that advice wrong.
 MT. Kellogg retorted that she pro- posed to fight for her rights here, and again asserted that she was sane. He declared that the Connecticut courts did not have jurisdiction over either her person or estate, and said that she lived here in Eighty-sixth street and proposed to remain here.
 MT. Kellogg said that under the law of Connecticut all applications in that State for the discharge of Fillmore S. Banks as conservator have to be made to the said Elmore S. Banks as Judge of the Probate Court, Tho S thereupop 1n sg b,. selects en Probate is the advice of counsel in Connecti- cut as we'll as his own opinion that the only proper mode of procedure was to commence a formal proceed 1 ing before the Probate Judge so se- lected in order to have 8 hearing de l novo on appeal.
 In an affidavit MT. Kellogg set forth:
 ''It is this hearing de novo on ap- peal that the said Fillmore S. Banks | seeks to prevent. and if not to pre- vent to delay. That in the mean time and in order to test the ques- ton of the propriety of allowing the to proceed before him and by his own designation of a | probate judge procure his own ap- pointment and select the judge for the hearing of his own hearing, pro- ceedings were commenced in the