The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-02-06
FIRST STEPS IN
JUDICIAL CHANGES
'Three-fOurths' Jury Plan Is
0. KID for Passage.
A JOLT GIVEN SMITH LAW
Both Branches of the Assembly Pass
Bill Creating Legislature Re-
search Bureau - Other
Measures Passed.
BY o. A. DONOVAN.
Special Columbus Correspondent.

BY o. A. DONOVAN.
Special Columbus Correspondent.
Columbus, O.-The vast scope Of
the judicial reform amendments to
the state constitution is beginning to
dawn in its full significance upon the
general assembly. It is being seen
that judicial revolution is upon Ohio.
At the same time it is certain that
the program Of carrying out the "reVo-
luton" will meet only a formal resist
ance. The assembly took the frst step
in the sweeping judicial changes when
1t received the report Of the joint ju-
dietary committees of house and SEN
ute recommending for passage the
"three-fourths" jury plan in civil cases.
This plan permits Verdicts in civil
cases TO be brought in by nine mem
bers o; jury. 1t was endorsed by the
joint committee after a good deal of
debate and after the statement had
been made by the opposition that 1t
meant the first step toward the dis
integration Of the Jury system" This
same question caused many hours of
debate in the constitutional conven-
tion last year and similar statements
were freely made against it. 1t is to
be noted that the joint committee
went as far as 1t possibly could go
under the constitution. which says
that verdlcts may be rendered by less
than IL but not less than 8. The COM
mittee, therefore, could have made
possible verdicts by 10 or II members
Of jury. There were so-called mid
dle-of-the-roaders who wanted the rule
of verdict by 10 members endorsed
but they were outvoted. The commit
tee likewise voted down the bill that
sought to maintain the old rule of
unanimous verdicts until the jury in
any case should have deliberated at
least six hours. Later the same COM
mittee entered upon the consideration
of really vaster judicial reforms.
These make the court of appeals, con-
stituted like the old circuit courts, the
tribunals of last resort in the great
majority of cases, and greatly restrict
the Jurisdiction OF the supreme court.
The ultimate aim OF reforms Is to
shorten and hurry judicial procedure,
by permitting, as general rule, one
trial and one review In all cases. I'm
til now two reviews, the last by the
supreme court, always have been pos
sible.
Smith Law Receives Jolt.
Attorney General Hogan is of the
opinion that the decision Of the su-
preme court in the Putnam county
case goes long way toward nullify-
ing the effect Of the one per cent tax
limit law. The decision is that there
is no limit on the amount that can be
levied by any subdivision in the state
for interest and sinking fund charges.
Up to this time the one per cent limit
covered all except interest and sink
ing fund, and the law was understood
to provide that for interest and sink
ing fund the limit could be stretched
TO one and one-half per cent. The in
depreciation of the supreme court Is
IuAL "llllO IhS OAlO POI SCliL AALhAI AS
mains for other matters, the one and
one-half per cent levy does not hold
for the interest and sinking fund and
that the levy for these purposes may
go as high as desired.
Delinquent Tax Laws.
Senator Frank Hillenkamp Of To-
,edo believes that the delinquent tax
laws of Ohio have been shamefully
abused by scheming public officials
and unscrupulous real estate manipu-
lators and that millions of dollars
worth of property have been unjustly
taken from legitimate owners through
delinquent tax sales. In this belief,
he presented to the senate bill pro,
viding for the complete change of the
tax laws governing delinquent prop.
erty. Instead Of the present provi'
sion that Is per cent shall be added to
the delinquent taxes at the time of the
first delinquency and Is per cent more
at the end of six months, he seeks to
substitute a provision to the effect
that no more than ten per cent year
shall be added for the delinquency
A further and even more important
provision of the Hillenkamp bill is
that there shall be no more delinquent
tax sales in Ohio except after due
court procedure. The new bill would
compel the county to hold delinquent
tax property in trust for the owner.
Legislative Research Bureau.
In the first real party skirmish in
the assembly the Democrats overcame
their Republican opponents and rushed
through under suspension of all rules
the bill creating legislative research
bureau to be headed by Prof. SeldoT
Gale Lowrie of the University Of Gin
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To Register Motorcycles.
Motorcycles as we'll as automobiles
will be registered in Ohio IL the
Kiser bill, introduced in the senate
is enacted into law. The bill not only
compels motorcycles to be registered
but 1t changes the methods Of the gen
eral registration of machines. II
would introduce graduated system
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