The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
More Attention Should Be
Paid to Record of
Witnesses
DOCKET is BEING
RAPIDLY CLEARED
Of Appealed Cases From Recorders
Court-WilI Make Public Figures
Showing This, He Says-No
Criticism of Fort Meant

In formal statement issued yesterday
Judge William T.. Fort. senior judse of
the criminal court. made public some suz-
sestions which he recently placed before
! city Commissioner A. O. Lane in regard
to improving the service of the county
and city courts.
| The principal suggestion is in regard to
more attention being paid to making a
record of the witness in a case when it
Is appealed from the recorders courts
to the county courts as Judge Fort claims
it is the absence of witnesses and the
| apparent inability to secure these wit
nesses that causes delay and in many in
stances a mol pressing Of the case.
City officials stated last night that no
| criticism whatever of Judge Fort was
meant in any of their references To de-
lays and crowded doekets in the county
courts, but that they were merely speak
ing of conditions which had existed long
before Judge Fort took the bench and
that thereby they might have unintention-
ally spoken pf the delays and mistrials
of city appealed cases in a way that
might have been misleading.
Judge Fort stated yesterday that there
We're literally thousands of cases on the
doekets of the court when he took the
bench some seven months ago. lie Is now
making arrangements to secure data from
the clerk of the criminal court. showing
the number Of these cases. the number
that has been docketed since. the number
that have been tried and all data in re-
gard to the work he has done In the
seven months. lie states that this data
viii prove that the docket is being ra pidly
cleared up
Judge Forts Statement
J The complaint OF city officials in regard
to these appealed cases was thar II was
often so long before the case came tn
trial that the arresting officer had forgot
ten about the facts witnesses had moved
ard could not be found ard similar oc-
eutances come up which caused the cases
to be lost Judge Forts statement fol-
lows:
70 the Editor OF The Age-lIerafd:
Ihe article in your paper of August 8.
headed Appealed Recorders conrt Cases
to BE Handled With More Dispatch. con-
tains several misleading statements.
In the first place, went to Judge Lane
lew days ago voluntarily to place before
him, as commissioner Of public Justice.
the adyisability Of having the proper oIfl
eial of the city place on the appeal papers
correct and complete list of the wit
nesses for the city with their addresses.
SO that city appeal eases when called in
the criminal court might be tried ON the
merits, instead Of being so frequently dis
missed for lack Of essential evidence.
OFTEN since I went on the bench last No
vember, city cases have been called and
the right witnesses were not put down on
the appeal papers, so that they could be
| summoned by the clerk for trial At other
times, officers who were witnesses failed
to appear In court on appeal. These OFF,
GERS were returned by the sheriff as ''ex-
eeuted,' and in majority of cases would
afterward inform the court that the subj
poenas for them We're probably left on file
IN the ehieIs office and had not been
brought TO their personal attention.
In the next place, / asked Judge Lane
to request the proper officer of the city to
investigate the city appeal cases and ad-
| wise the clerk of the criminal court what
cases We're in most need of immediate ac-
ton; in order that all city appeal cases
might be intelligently set for trial AT our
next term.
Assured of Cooperation
| In going to Judge Lane and consulting
with him about these matters I acted in
the interest of an improved public service
which every public officer should regard
as his duty to the people. / found the
commissioner II public justice courteous
and prompt in his assurance of thorough
cooperation along the lines I thus sug-
gested and believe his favorable action
will result in cases being tried when set
/ Rome was not built IN a single day.
Neither can several thousand cases be
/ tried in seven months. When jury trials
are demanded on appeal in city cases
only limited number of cases can ac-
! tually be titled each day.
/ Since went on the bench, November 12
| last, a period Of seven months, all cases
have been tried as rapidly as we found
consistent with public justice Our enei-
| giles We're engaged In trying capital and
| felony cases. as this course was urgently
demanded TO protect life and property
against crime. There We're several thou
sand cases pending. but this number has
been greatly diminished.
In few days / will submit to the pub
lie a record of the cases which have been
tried by the criminal court from Novem-
ber 12, 1912 to June so. 1918 The public
may thus Judge for themselves whether.
there have been any "bunglesoune delays"
las stated in your article above mentioned.
7 7 A n II