The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-14

 servatism which our profession neees- sarily creates. or proper reverence for for the wisdom of our ancestors to bind us to the fact that the condition which today exists is that the law in its human ity for the criminal has to large extent failed in it's duty to society. It has sur rounded every criminal with a magic circle of technicality and has enabled the red handed murderer, on account of error of procedure which does not affect the substantia merits of the case, to escape the just punishment of his crime.
 Reforms Suggested
 Some of the important reforms, there fore. which 1 suggest are the follow ing:
 |, That the common law powers of the judges be restored and that they be invested with power not only to present the issues of fact, but to sum up the evil dence to the jury and direct them as to the law applicable thereto.
 70 The adoption of the rule which now exists in England, and which now prevails in several states of the union, and which has been indorsed by the American Bar association, which is in substance that the legislature shall enact a law that no judg- ment shall be reversed and no new trial shall be granted on the ground of a mis- direction of the jury or improper adnlis- sion of evidence or fact, or error in any matter of pleading, practice or procedure
 unless in the opinion of the appellate court, after an examination of the entire case it shall affirmatively appear that the error complained of has resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
 a. The practice in the trial of causes, civil and criminal, to be governed by d legislative practice act, to be as brief as possible, covering the substance of pro- cedure and supplemented by suitable rul- ings of the court, the courts being clothed , with ample power to make rules for the orderly and expenditions dispatch of causes unhampered by technical statu- tory requirements.
 A. Allowing the state the same num- Der of challenges as the defendant, and reducing the number of challenges in both felonies and mlsdemeanors. Abolish the greater part of the statutes regulating procedures and in place of those statutes give power to the supreme court of the state to adopt rules of procedure covering all matters of a general nature, with power on the part of the trial judge to adopt such simple supplemental rules as may be needed in their several Jurisdic- tions, thus following the precedent fur nished by the national bankruptcy act where the supreme court of the United States can promulgate all necessary forms and rules of practice.
 "5 Allow the state as we'll as the de- | fendant a right to a change of venue whenever in the opinion of the court it is | necessary.
 l "6. Abolish all new trials except in rare l or unusual cases when the appellate court
 might desire new light on the facts. "7. Give the appellate court or the su-
 preme court authority fl 1t car
 be done constitutionally, to rem
 der final judgment in all cases
 civil or criminal, increasing oi diminishing recoyeries in civil cases and | sentences in criminal cases In their discre-
 tion. Let the record in every case set out
 the entire evidence and let the defendant know that in the event of a new trial | after reversal he may receive greater
 punishment than that inflicted on the I first trial.
 1 'S. So amend our jury laws so as to require all persons in county who are competent to serve as jurors and elimi-
 nate practically all exemptions. l @. The fee system wherever 1t exists for the compensation of prosecuting at | torneys should be abolished.
 1 '10 Allow no prosecution for misde-
 meanors except on the indictment of a
 grand jury, or upon information filed by | solicitor or an assistant solicitor of a county so preventing mass of frivolous
 and unfounded prosecutions now encum- | bering our dockets.
 '11 Abolish all turnkey fees. prolific
 source of many frivolous prosecutions.
 '12 All courts to be kept open at al
 times except durings reasonable summer
 vacation and the judge be given power
 to mpanel judge at any time. '13 I earnestly indorse the suggestion oi
 T. NJ. Stevens that the solicitor should
 be furnished funds for unearthing crime
 and paying the expense of proper prose
 cution: the amount as we'll as the ex-
 penditure of which fund should be under | the supervision of the attorney general | subject to the approval of the governor. | Tn the larger cities of the union all
 prosecuting officials have power to em- | ploy detectives to aid them in securing evidence and Investigating fully every clue leading to the arrest of parties guilty of crime-both felonies and misde- meanors.
 "A earnestly indorse the suggestion
 made by R. B. Evins that all criminal appeals should be perfected within sixty | days from the entry of the Judgment of | convictions. the bill of exceptions to be
 filed with the trial judge within twenty
 days after the conviction and to be acted
 upon by him within twenty days after | being filed.
 '15 That instead of criminal cases be. | ing submitted at the call of the division
 in which the county in which the con viction is had is situated, that 1t shall be | required to be submitted or the first | Thursday on which the court to which
 the appeal is taken is in session, twenty days after the expiration of the sixty days
 within which the appeal is to be taken | these appeals to be, as now, preferred | cases.
 These may be mentioned as some of | the important reforms to which I desire
 to direct your attention. There may be
 others equally as important but the linn | its of this occasion will not permit their discussion We should not overlook the 1 fact that the delay which now occurs | in our courts is not entirely the fault of our judges, sheriffs or judges They are the faults of our system. Our judges as are learned in the law. as intelligent and as competent as those of any state | In the union, but they are hammered hy an antiquated system whic his re- proacb upon a progressive and advancing civilization"
 Do C.-.r