The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-05-27
Heads of Municipal Courts
Express Themselves
Differently
ATTITUDE OF BAR
MEMBERS IMPORTANT
Judge Donoway Thinks New Munici-
pal Court Law Will Cost State More
Money-Judge Barber Thinks it Is
Up to Attorneys

The municipal judges of the state look
upon the new municipal court law with
varying degrees of approval or dsap-
proval. That there are possibilities in it.
for increased expense to the state without
commensurate expedition of justice seems
to be agreed upon, and whether the law
Is to be a blessing or a curse depends
largely upon the attitude of the bar to-
wards it.
In a recent meeting and banquet in Rut-
land, attended by the bar and court Off
GERS Of Rutland county, Judge f. L. Wat
erman of Brattleboro urged the members
Of the bar to do their utmost to save the
best of the new reformed judicial proceed
IRE and counseled cooperation with the
courts and an optimistic view of the re-,
Gently enacted laws T
This was notwithstanding the frank
statement of James B. Donoway of the.
Middlebury municipal court and State's
| Attorney c. V. Poulin Of Rutland county,.
that the new municipal court bill, at least,
was a mistake and would cost the state
money
The law makes the court piece Of
travelling machinery said Judge Dono4
way. 1T must go into whatever town an
otfense is committed and give the respond
ent a cOmmon-law jury trial of u men. II
VIII cost $50 for fees and fine to convict a
common drunk. 1t viii be necessary to
keep roster of 30 iurymen in every town
on file, which would mean ], 400 in this
county.
The state made serious error in pro-
viding for a 12-men jury, a stenographer,
anI all the paraphernalia of a court of
record. The new courts, also, win overlap
the county courts in many respects. One
thing we all agreed upon, however, and
that is that the archaic, common-law sys-
TEN of trials by justice Of the peace should
be done away with
Judge Waterman paid the county bar
many compliments for its diligence in pre-
Iparing cases, 80 that great deal of work
had been accomplished during the present
term
Judge Frank E. Barber of the Brattle-
f boro municipal court thinks that on the
, whole the new law is a good one. He says
that the attorneys have it in their power
; To make the law produce good results,
{ Probably a third of the cases in county
courts are appeals from decisions in civil
: cases in the municipal court, where the
amount involved is less than 500. The
new law makes the decisions of the muni-
Z cipal courts final in such cases, and the
expense of trying them is small as COM
pared with the expense of county court
trials. The only way in which attorneys
can get such cases into the county court
is to place the ad damnum at an amount
in excess of 5000.
e The municipal court has final jurisdiction
in all misdemeanors. In cases of felony
the municipal court has jurisdiction wherS
: the maximum sentence prescribed doe;
r not exceed five years Imprisonment, pro
/ vided the respondent pleads guilty. If he
. pleads not guilty the case goes to tn,
|. county court
s AS to the municipal court being a piect
e lof travelling machinery, it has been 81
r right along As to the jury, the parties
l. in a civil action may agree upon les
number than u, as heretofore, but in
criminal case the jury must now be 1.
men.