Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-11
HALL OF RECORDS IS URGED
TO RELIEV COURT HOUSE
New Building Opposite County Structure Would Give
Ample Room to All Departments

q
thing has to be done and very quick
| ly too, to relieve the present over
| crowded condition of the Court
! House. The lack of accommodations
for the jurymen is not the only fault
to be found with the present build
ing. Every county office Is cramped
for room.
The naturalization bureau of the
county clerks office is located outside
the building at the present time. 1t
should properly be in the Court
House, not at High street and
Springfield avenue, a block away in
dingy little office that a shyster
lawyer would not use. 1t gives pros
pective citizens a very poor idea OF
the greatness and dignity of this
country and county when they climb
narrow stairway and into a small
poorly decorated room of an old brick
building in order to perform therein
the first duties they are called on
to do in seeking to become a citizen.
The commissioner of juries Is in
need of an office, but where they are
going to get 1t Is a mighty difficult
question to answer. There Is absolu-
tely not a vacant spot In the build
ing that can be given to Commission
err Edward E. Gnichtel and the clerk
of the commission, If one is ever ap-
pointed.
The prosecutors Office could use
twice as much room as 1t has at the
present time. There is not room at
present where county detectives, the
prosecutor or his assistants can hold
conferences with witnesses for the
State. 1t all has to be done In offices
constantly in use and with people go
ing In and out while conferences that
are sometimes of the utmost i'm
portance are in progress.
1t is no infrequent happening to
see a county detective surrounded by
several witnesses jammed into cor
ner of the corridor on the second
floor of the Court House with the de-
tective trying to find out in secrecy
what the witnesses have to tell, while
the witnesses on the other side of the
case are edging in and trying to
overhear what the State witnesses
are telling the detective.
The above is no dream or imagi-
nary statement. 1t is a matter of cold,
hard facts, has been witnessed by the
writer times innumerable and can be
verified by any one of the ten coun-
conference room, or several of them,
for use by the county detectives.
Another thing is this. At times,
and not infrequently either, 1t be-
comes necessary and advisable to
Keep all Witnesses out of the court
room until they are called; also at
times the State or defense may wish
to keep their witnesses separate from
those of the other side
II the State desires to do this they
can obtain for the use of the wit
nesses one of the jury rooms, pro-
Vided there Is one not in use. Law
yers for the defense have no such
opportunity and their witnesses must
cool their heels in the corridors, where
all who will may talk to them about
the case in question.
Ana the average witness objects to
being placed in a jury room while
awaiting to be called. You cannot
blame them. There is something in
the severe plainess of a jury room
with its long table and twelve chairs
as its only furniture that smacks
very much of big cell. and the wit
nesses resent the idea of being kept
in 1T. You can't blame them, either.
A witness room where witnesses
can wait their calls to testify Is q
crying need at the Court House, Sec
ond only to the need for accommoda-
tions for petit jurors when not en-
gagged In hearing cases; but II Ia a
situation that cannot be remedied In
the present building. There can ne
no remedy until an addition or an
mex is built to the present structure
or until new hall of records is
built
Juvenile Judge Patrick ]. Dolan sat
IN solitary state In his chambers on
me third floor of the Court House on
wednesday morning, shortly after 10
O'Clock, and wondered why his court
oincers and attendants and the per-
sons interested in cases to be heard
before him were not present.
for several weeks past the Juvenile
courtroom has been used temporarily
as Court of Common Pleas, with a
judge from an outside county hearing
criminal cases from the bench. This
week there was no outside Judge
hearing cases in this county, so Judge
Dolan took possession of his old room
Wednesday morning.
But his clerks, court attendants or
persons having cases before the court
did not know that and were all in
the grand jury witness-room on the
second floor, which Judge Dolan has
used as temporary court, wonder
ing where the Judge was, Just
as the judge on the top floor was
wondering where his staff OF officers
and litigants were Someone finally
discovered Judge Dolan alone In state
. in his chambers, informed the court
officers, and there was a procession
from the second to the third floor
AFTER which the Juvenile Court got
busy.
These are busy days for the boys
in the freeholders' department at the
Court House. and they are busy get