Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-25


which will total about $500 a year.
The act of the Legislature in plae-
ing the court attendants on a mini
mum salary of $1,250 yearly once
more emphasizes the inequality of
salaries paid in Essex county. Many
clerks. notably in the county clerk $
department who have a vast amount
more work to do and far greater re-
sponsibilities than the court attend
ants, receive but $1,000 year, only
$3.50 more than that paid the court
attendants whose sole responsible
ties are to be present In court and
obey the orders of the presiding
Judge.
The county detectives, whose work
s. far harder as regards hours and
everything else, receive $3.50 per
year, only $500 more than is now paid
the court attendants. Women clerks,
where technical knowledge is requr-
cd receive less than the court attend
ants Almost any number of in
stances could be cited but the above
are enough.
The point Of the proposition is right
here II the Legislature figures that
the work performed by the court at
tendants, which. as the name denotes,
consists simply Of attendance in the
court rooms is worth a yearly wage
Of 81 $50 surely the Board of Free
holders should consider the work of
clerks, such as those enumerated
bove. worth more than the salaries
now paid
Former Assistant Prosecutor Fred
eriek r Lehlbach, to use a baseball
expression, pulled a Barry" in Judge
William p. Martins court yesterday
81 1H,1 oh Inc
the court as counsel in a will contest
and when the taking of testimony
was finished was tod by Judge Mar
tin he could proceed with his sum
ming up.
Mr. Lehlhach. following his usual
custom, twisted a little lock of hair
on his forehead for moment and
then started NAV 1t please the court
and" with a wave of his hand toward
the Jury box gentlemen of the jury.
That was as far as he got, for he was
stopped by a laugh in which Judge
Martin Joined. For the jury box was
empty. There are no jurors used in
orphan Court matters.
1t Is a shame to tell this, and far
he IL from me to cast any d'sparage-
ment on the highly successful annual
ball Of the Richard F. Malta Associ-
alton at the Grueger Auditorium last
Thursday night, but the Mutt and
Jeff' way that the scrappv little free
holder arranged himself and two
members of the floor committee In
the grand march caused a quiet laugh
in the big auditorium
OF course Mr. Malta in all his
glory and five feet three inches or
-, o~oa bouts Of height led the march.
Right behind him came Raymond l..
Mahoney, of the county counsefS OF
flee. Mahoney is fully six feet tall,
,"hile Immediately behind him came
Billy Rink, private secretary to the
county collector, Rink is just about
as tall as Malta and Mahoney grand
marching between the two mldgets
made the Mutt and jeff" effect per
feet.
Prosecutor Louis Hood is gratified
these days at the way the crlnlinai
court calendars are being cleaned up.
BY having an extra judge sitting IN
Quarter Sessions Court to help out
County Judges William p. Martin ana
Harry V. Osborne the criminal work
of the county has about reached
stage where cases can be disposed of
within two or three weeks after being
brought to the attention CT the grand
Jury cases in which prisoners pleaded
on April %, last Thursday, were set
down for trial on Tuesday, May D,
lnpse of but twelve Gays from the
time a person is called on to plead
until they are placed on trial.
Until Prosecutor Hood got busy
about the first of the present year
and urged greater speed in the trial
of persons accused of crime 1t was
no unusual thing for prisoner to be
forced to remain in Jail for from two
to three months, and In some In
stances a greater length OF time,
awaiting trial
Our old friend. the non vult" plea,
came into prominence again last
week, when Raymond 70. Smith, for
mer treasurer of the wrecked Rose
VILE Trust Company, was allowed to
make that plea to twenty-five indict-
ments, the indictments growing out
of the crash of the trust company.
mon Vult'' is a plea given many
times weekly by prisoners and dc-
cepted by the courts, but few persons
outside of lawyers really know just
what it means.
Certainly evry few of the prisoners
really do. All they know Is that
when they offer a plea of mon Vult'
is that 1t is explained to them that it
is the same as plea of guilty and
that they throw themselves on the
mercy Of the court.
mon vult' is a contraction of the
Latin term "nolo contendere," which
means in English 81 do not wish to
contend" Webster's international
dictionary gives this definition of the
phrase: "a plea by the defendant in
a criminal prosecution which with
cut admitting guilt subjects him to a
Judgment of conviction as in case of
a plea of guilty, but does not pre-
clude him from denying the truth Of
the charges in a collateral proceed
ing
In effect this means that plea of