The Washington times., 1914-01-11
THREE JUDGES TO
STEP FROM BENCH
Four of the Five JuristS in
Municipal Court Will Be Job
less Saturday.
Continued from First Page.)

Not since the court was instituted,
nearly fve years ago, have the judges
Hen changed -Four of them have seen
tuHg service as justices Of the peace,
md all five have served continuously on
the Municipal Court, making a fine &c
ord for that institution.
Lawyers Laud Court.
Attorneys practicing before the bar
have many fine things to say about the
aOurt as an institution and as at pres
mt constituted. This does not mean an
"nthusiastic and Overwhelming enthusi-
gsm for things as they are. There are
some criticisms, some perhaps just and
sJrne perhaps unjust. One member OF
the bar pointed out that to many it
seemed futile to make q fine point of
Law before the Municipal Court because
IL was not appreciated.
This is answered by another promi-
nent member of the bar with the state
Inent that the court is an outgroH-th of
the old justice of the peace system.
There is little, If any, technical pleading
before the court. Law and equity and
common sense ae more the basis of
Judgment, this member pointed out
And he declared the fact that fire
points of law are not appreciated is
more a recommendation than a dispar-
lagement 1t is this, perhaps, that
makes the strongest appeal as the poor
mans court.
The court has another distinction. II
has the only full-iedged. honest-to-
sOodness colored judge in the United
States. This distinction is claimed by
Judge Robert II. Terrell. There are col
1red justices of the peace and other
colored law officers of one kind or an
other. but Judge Terrell and his friends
hold that he is the only real out-and-out
IIIrist who sits upon the bench in a
fully constituted United States court
Have Great Esteem.
Judge Terrell has other achievements.
Though colored, he has, practically
without exception. the esteem. it seems,
nf every member of the bar who has
come before his court. Attorneys ap
proached on the subject have many
commendatory statements to make both
as to the personality and ability of
Judge Terrell He is described as uni
formly courteous, considerate in his
treatment of all men, and commanding
respect tor ability to maintain the re-
spect and regard of those who appear
before him. regardless of race or color.
That he has maintained the dignity of
his court and discharged its duties with
faithfulness and ability. will be testified
10 by a host of attorneys. There are
many who would welcome his reappoint-
ment, irrespective of color.
One man prominent in the bar asso-
citation of the District, who is an out
and-out Democrat and a, strong ad-
herent of partisan politics in the fullest
sense. and who believes that all offices
should be held by Democrats in a
Democratic Administration. declared
any colored man, he certainly would
hope for and welcome the reappoint-
ment Of Judge Terrell.
Has Long Record.
Before going on the Municipal Court
bench, Judge Terrell was a justice of
the peace, and has seen long service.
Every one of the five present members
Of the court has been re-sppointed to
the municipal bench at least once.
When the court was created five men
who were justices of the peace went
into the new court. Al the time OF
creation there were six justices of the
peace, and the number mad ranged from
six TO fifteen. The old justice of the
peace order was a fee system, and
some justices made as hig1 as $4,000 or
$4,000 a year. The system had many
drawbacks in scattered records, ana
various systems of tOOS and record
keeping.
1t was hard to keep track of judg-
ments Under the Jaw then 1t was
necessary TO sue in the justice Of the
resided. This crowded the docket OF
the man in the business district and left
he others comparatively hungry. Be
cause the central district H&s crowded
causes were delayed and there were
many inconvenience.
Under the present system the court,
though it has only five justices, keeps
I'D with the calendar. Each day the
cases are split into tjfihs. and are
heard. II is possible to get a case
through in a little over 4 week, and un-
less delays are asked, the usual time
is under two weeks.
Keep Work Moving.
Cases are interchangeable one are
shifted about to keek the work moving.
Judge Aukam, the youngest man on
LIe court, and one who is largely re-
sponsible for its existence, fills in by au-
thority Of the Supreme Court on the
.Iench Of the Juvenile and Police Courts.
When judge or judges are absent,
The work is split into fOurths, thirdS.
or halves as the case may be. Unless
appointments are made before Judge
Striders time expires within a week,
The entire burden will fall on Judge
-Aukam.
The court was created February Il,
730g. Congressman Campbell of Kansas,
who has befriended the District and
fought for local measures since. greatly
sided the passage of the bill creating
the court in Congress. Chaplin Brown,
g member of the legislative commit
I0e of the Chamber Of Commerce,
worked tirelessly for it. At that time
he court idea was not overly popular
with members of the bar
Sentiment has changed decidedly since
a'Id move to abolish the court would
meet healthy opposition.
Futhered Legislation.
Judge AulIam became imbued with
tho Municipal Court idea soon after he
gas made Justice of the peace in 1907.
nj he also was one of the men most
prominent in fuFtheTing the legislation.
The municipal case has exclusive jUr-
isdictiOn I'm civil cases Of suits where
The sum is 500 or less. 1t has a con-
~urrent jurisdiction with the higher dis
tricts courts on sums from 800 up TO
80, and a litigant has the option Of
taking his case to either court.
lie usually chooses the Municipal
Court because the costs are low, but a
little over a dollar. as compared with
an initial fee of SI5fn the higher court.
BESIDES in the higher court it is de-
cIaTed that cas[ frequently run over
on the crowded calendar.
II is this condition that may lead
supporters of the court TO launch a
movement to increase the scope of the
Municipal C0uTI giving it concurrent
Jurisdiction up to $1,000, as well as a
jury trial system.
Idle Gossip Causes Death.