The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-07

| Gliding each case submitted to it, be-
fore any justice knows who is to write
the opinion. At the last meeting of
the association its president in his an
nual address gave fitting expression to
the professions appreciation of the
new order of procedure and rules adopt
ed by your honors looking to the de-
termination of causes upon their merits,
unembarrassed by hampering niceties
of procedure. His discussion disclosed
ample historical warrant for the action
you have taken and made manifest its
timeliness. His view. which by formal
vote to which We shall next advert,
the association made it's own, Is thus
summarized:
"The effect will be productive of bet
ter considered and more accurate de-
cisions; 1t will tend to make better
lawyers and greater judges"
We are commissioned by the only or
ganization empowered to speak for the
bar to come before you to express ap-
probation for what you have done, aud
to ask that you take one step further
in the same direction. Our credentials
| are this resolution of unanimous adop-
| ton:
Whereas, one of the rules recently
| adopted by the supreme court en-
braces a step towards the establishing
of system whereunder cases will be
considered and decided by the court be-
fore an opinion is written by one of
the judges, which is the only effective
| method of abolishing the one Judge
evil:' therefore, be it
Resolved, That the aforesaid action
| by the supreme court Is hereby in
dorsed. and the court hereby earnestly
requested to adopt, as soon as possible
a procedure whereunder every case will
be considered and decided by the court
| before it is referred to justice for
| the preparation of an opinion
Resolved, further, That the pres
ident of this association do appoint a
| special committee composed of three
| members to represent the association In
presenting this matter to the court and
urging the adoption of the aforesaid
procedure.
by the new rules you have required
| the appellant to state the fact of his
case, which are to be accepted as stated
unless the appellee shows them mac
curate by reference to the transcript
| You have required a statement of the
| points and authorities in succinct and
Iunargumentative FORM and have re-
qujred that suffs cient number of these
condensatfons be supplied each justice
to have a separate copy before him.
The lawyers are thus to agree upon the
facts or to narrow their differences TO
the smallest compass. With the facts
thus presented and the divergent the
ories of law concisely arrayed one
against the other, will the task of a
preliminary discussion involve greater
labor or larger consumption of time
than is required by the system of ad-
vance opinions which now prevails? Is
the task of analysis and differentiation
In give and take of general discussion
more laborious than the older method
of one having ha1f-blindly to weigh
and criticise a legal essay written by
the only member of the court who has
formulated conclusions from vantage
point denied his auditors? The labor in
vo1ved in discussing and deciding the
case in council and there working out
the general scope and purpose of the
opinion, and then delegating to one JUS
tice the task of voicing the courts an
nounced judgment will, we apprehend,
be no greater than that required un-
der tho older rules of the court. But
| If there be added labor, If more time
be required. there is recompense in that
the whole of the Independent character
and judgment of each justice is brought
to the decision of each case. and moth