St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-03-11
COURT PROCEDURE
Judge w. w. Miles Makes Some
Observations and Recommen-
datiOns on the Subject.

The following letter written for
the Barton Monitor is reproduced
here as it is relative to a live topic.
Editor Monitor:
| have been asked to give my
written opinion as to reforms in the
court procedure of Vermont. At
first L hesitated about doing it, be-
cause l thought that the act might be
construed by some as an interference
with a legislative matter. Upon re-
Election, however, became convinced
| that no just criticism could be made
if | confined my statements to facts
not known to the public generally
and which were necessary to be
| known in order to judge under
standingly upon that subject. l felt
that it could only be perfectly under
stood by those constantly observing
the effect and result of it's workings,
or by those who were fully informed
as to its operation by one under
standing it, and that the many and
various conditions of litigation must
! be understood and carefully consid-
cred before deciding what is best, if
we would avoid creating a greater
evil than the one sought to be cor
rected. A very wholesome lesson in
this respect may be learned from a
study of the attempt by the English
to change the court procedure of
British India from the native to the
! Common Law. Though sufficient in
England it proved disastrous in In
dia, because the conditions in India,
which were overlooked by the COM
mission appointed to investigate that
|
those in England.
,, In view of the fact that [ believed
that the people ought to know the
conditions as they exist in Vermont
relative to this matter, and in con-
s1deratiOn of the present agitation
relative to the court procedure of
Vermont, l thought that possibly it
was my duty as well as that of others
whose every day work lay in the
held OF county court procedure, to
give to the people such information
as we possessed respecting this sub
ject, that those interested in that
matter might judge for themselves
and thereby be better prepared to
avoid erroneous conclusions based up
on incorrect information obtained,
either from misinformed and mis-
taken sources or from sources de-
signed to misinform. 1 am also
mindful of the fact that the people
can safely trust themselves to make
laws for themselves and amend and
change them as necessities require,
If they are correctly informed with
reference to the subject matter act
ed upon, and that they are dangerous
to themselves only when misled or
misinformed, which does not fire.
quently occur; although the criti-
cisms at the close of the activities of
each Legislature might lead one to
an opposite conclusion, but those
criticisms are usually hasty and often
groundless. Even the much abused
Legislature of 1912, which contained
as able and honorable men as any of
its predecessors, would probably have
avoided much of it's lengthy term, if
1T had not been so strenuously urged
to do something about which it and
the public had so little information.
Viewing the matter in this light,
and with no purpose to dominate the
opinion of any one, but simply to
give the people the benefit of my ex-
perience, | write this letter respect
ing some of our rules, the progress
made in the courts during the last
forty years and make some sugges-
If the Legislature saw fit, that might |
simplify our procedure and do away
with much of technicalities of trials.
Progress i'm the Courts.
From recent discussions by advo-
Gates of reform in court procedure,
it seems to me that there is a general
Misunderstanding of the condition of
our county court procedure, and that
the impression obtains with some
that our courts have not kept pace
in the line of progress with other de-
partments of the Government.
Going back over the condition of
our courts and procedure within my
memory, and comparing it now with |
what it was when first began to OBJ |
serve it, I am impressed with the be- |
lief that no department of our State |
Government has made more rapid |
progress than our courts. No fea- |
ture of this progress is more notice
able than the increase of thoroughly |
trained and educated young men who /
are coming to the bar each year.
When first came to notice mat
tiers relating to our courts, there /
were strong and well educated men |
at the bar, who in the course of their |