The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-02-01
Court Reform-Redues Expenses.
Carl Snyder. in Golfers.

Carl Snyder, in Golfers.
On one point I find that the ablest law
yers and tho progressive judges who have
set their faces toward the light are practi-
cally agreed. That is the personal guilt
Of the judges. and the efficacy of direct.
detailed criticism Of their Individual acts.
Whatever excuse they may urge, how
ever bound they may seem to find them
selves by a~ntiquated codes and rules of
procedure, the fact remains that the
judges are not simply legal automatons
tice.
Reforms are bound to come. They have
largely been effected in England. and are
being silently put into practice by the bet
ter class OF judges in this country. These
include in brief:
The Encouragement of Appeals-In
spite of the fact that we have over 500
judges sitting on appellate courts in this
country, n majority of these courts are
behind their dockets anywhere from one
to four years. But above all questions Of
laziness or dilatoriness is the fact that
appeals pay. IL, as In England, there were
put IL new trials. granted out Of a total
or 10000 OF civil actions brought, there
would not be $4,000 appeal decisions in the
United States.
The Abandonment Of Technicalities Of
Procedure-The New York court of APP
peals has set an admirable example with
IN recent years In declining to upset YER
diets and decisions which manifestly have
nothing to do with the merits of the case.
And yet this same court has recently
people VS.. Faberl held that failure to ask
the defendant on being sentenced IL he
has any reason to offer why sentence
should not be pronounced is a serious err
ror ana constitutes a mistrial!
In 1895 to 1902 reversals In the New York
appellate court averaged above 30 per cent;
In the last year 3,14l appeals and more
the larger part OF these reversals turned
upon pure techn!calities which did not
concern the merits Of the controversy in
any way.
Enforced Time Saving in Challenging
Jurors-We kave recently had a fresh ex-
ample OF rfffs uncomfortable abuse in the
trlal Just terminated SO abruptly in Los
Angeles. Here nearly eight weeks were
consumed in securing the eight Jurors.
And yet the chief council for the defense
has admitted, In his own defense, that he
knew from March that his clients were
guilty and that he knew before the trial
began that the evidence for the prosecu-
ton constituted an i~mpregnable wall
that the. case was absolutely hopeless.
AT AND the people Of Los Angeles county
Now confront these facts with the state
ment OF Justice Brown, late of the SUI
preme court, that in all his long years OF
service on the bench before his promo
tom the impaneling of a jury had never
required or exceeded tie &c hours in any
"SSe. What one Judge can do, all can do.
Recently. in the supreme court of New
York, in a list of 40 cases. not one was
ready for trial. In a severe criticism of
the lawyers, Justice Golf pointed out
that at the time there were five parts of
this same court in New York CITY prac-
tically idle, with hundreds of cases upon
the dockets, for the same reason. Each
of these five judges was costing the peo-
pie of New York s17,5O0 yearly in salary.
The cases were largely accident cases.;
and failures to appear on the one side or
the other, were for one reason only, the
pront of delay. 1t is almost unbelievable
that judges who refuse to become parties
to this abuse could not effect a drastic
reform.
In plain words. the evidence seems clear
that the scandal of the laws DELAYS in
America is due largely, IL not wholly. TO
the blind adherence of the Judges to out
sworn rules and customs which are utter
ly incapable OF coping with modern con-
ditions.
From a careful review of a large num-
Der or criticisms by able judges and re-
ports OF the bar associations Committees.
1 believe that the judges, and the Judges
alone, and unaided, could do away with
three-fifths, IL not four-ffths, of these de-
lays. Now. whenever the community at
large awakes to the fact that the laws
delays are due to the failure of Judges
eXpeditiously to administer Justice, re-
form will come promptly, and this with
out any constitutional amendments or
change of laws.