New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-25
PLAN TO EMPTY TOMBS
DOESN'T SUIT WHITMAN
Judge Swami Suggests bureau
Of PREPARATION for Dis
triCt Attorneys Office.
TOO MUCH TIME WASTED
Plenty of Cases Ready" Says
Prosecutor, if Judges Will Sit
on Bench Long Enough
to Try Them.

| Judge Edward Swami, OF General SEES
sions. said yesterday that he thought II
would be an excellent idea. productive OF
increased efficiency in the courts and
tending to decrease the congestion in the
! Tombs. II the District Attorney were 10
institute bureau OF preparation" This
bureau. Judge Swami said. would prepare
every case for trial I'm the same manner
that cases were prepared in the ordinary
law Office. II that were done. he said.
there would be no chance OF an Assistant
! District Attorney announcing. az some
times happens under the present system.
that the case had been prepared by some
one else, and he knew nothing whatever
about IT,
District Attorney Whitman disagrees
with Judge Swami. There were plenty of
cases ready. he said, II the judges would
only spend enough time on the bench TO
dispose Of them. Al least half the time
and effort employed by such a bureau.
the District Attorney thought. would be
wasted
81 have no intention OF criticising the
District Attorney" said Judge Swami.
but | would suggest that bureau 10
prepare cases for trial would De an eX-
cellent institution. There should also be
clerk 10 obtain from the police the rec
ords o. the defendants
There Is no systematic effort in this
direction. and il frequently happens that
n man who has been convicted two or
three lines is not recognized ar an old
offender The defendant takes his chances
u.i1
tain his record and goes to trial IL he
knew that his record were known he
would generally plead guilty.
1T is not an infrequent occurrence Tor
the Judge 10 find out after verdict has
been rendered that the defendant was
under a suspended sentence at the time
OF his arrest. II that were known In the
first place he would go 70 prison on the
old sentence. and his trial on the pending
charge would go over.
The District Attorney ought 10 have
the minutes from the magistrates court
Frequently the lawyer for the defence is
able To confound the states witnesses
bv references TO their previous testimony.
Every big law office prepares lis cases
with care, and the lawyer for the defence
knows beforehand what his witnesses
will testify to-"
1t would not do AZ all" said District
Attorney Whitman when Judge Swami 5
plan was proposed TO him. We're ready
with the cases II the Judges Will only sit
on the bench long enough to dispose OF
them. The plan suggested might work
II there were only one court, or IL a case
took exactly three hours. AS II is. there
are five courts. and while one is dispos-
ing OF three cases another may dispose OF
twenty. Consequently. II the calendar
were made up OF cases previously pre-
pared. there would be too many prepared
cases in the one court and too few In the
other. Some cases that come 10 trial
may be three weeks old and others three
years.
There would be waste OF both time
and effort by such a bureau Probably
- per cent OF those indicted plead guilty.
80 bureau could pick out the cases which
would eventually 20 to trial from those
In which the defendant would plead
guilty. As IT is now We get 81 per cent
convictions"