Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1915-09-17
THE LAWS DELAY


does not deliver freight till week
after it is due, little mountain of cor
respondence will accumulate.
If man has a bill against the city
government and it is unpaid he inter
views his alderman and bids HIM TO
"get busy" On the other hand, II an
administrator Of an estate neglects to
turn over the funds which he holds as
trustee, the heirs may have to spend
four or five years in persistent and ex-
pensive court proceedings before they
can compel the man to take his hands
off their money.
Why do the American people put up
with the circumlocution and the losses
due to this shiftless system?
Why does civilized people allow it
self to be robbed and murdered by
criminals, who, if convicted, will al
most certainly stave off their sentences
for months OF years?
The courts are as much the servants
of the public as the coucilmen, mayors
and letter carriers In other countries
they accept that responsibility. In
Great Britain single jury may dis
pose of ten criminal cases in one day,
if the evidence is clear. In the Unitea
States, one criminal, If he has money
to procure counsel, may keep the jury
on the stretch for ten days.
A few examples will illustrate the
actual delays:
Ia 1900 the cashier of bank In
Massachusetts, was tried sor wreeking
the bank by stealing $146, 900. He was
duly convicted and sentenced to nine
years in the penitentiary. Seven years
later ne was carrying on business,
never having served day ia jail, be-
cause he succeeded in postponing the
decision by technicallties year after
year.
A southwestern lawyer is very proud
because he defended client who was
five times in succession tried and SEN
fenced to death for the same crime;
and four successful appeals We're
brought TO higher court, which every
time annullcd the proceedings of the
lower court.
A brakeman, injured by railroad in
1882 was obliged to go through seven
trial, occupying twenty years, before
the company would pay verdict.
A telegraph suit entered in 1876 was
stiA not settled after thirty-six years.
For these delays there are several
reasons. Many courts are ciogged with
damage suits against troNy lines and
railroads, which oblige them TO keep
new cases waiting fometimes for sew
erai years. Many courts sit too few
days in the year to clear their oalen-
dars. Moreover, the judges sympa-
thize with the desipe of counsel to have
ample time for preparation of their
cases.
LAYERS ALSO expect delays which will
make it convenient for them to hold
onto several cases which may be as
signed for about the same time. Many
good cases are thrown out or sent
back to lower court because of tech
nicalities.
If jury finds that: "We, your jury,
beg leave to bring in verdict of man
slaughter, the verdict may be set
aside on the ground that the verdict
ought to have read: eve, the jury,
return verdict of manslaughter.
The litigants who have the longest
purses can employ skilled counsel to
pick flaws in the proceedings; and they
are best able to put up the necessary
bonds for appeals and court costs.
Thus, courts, in an overscrupulous en-
eeavor to see that no innocent man is
convicted, and TO give everybody a
fair chance, deprive thousands of liti-
giants of substantial justice.
Many committees of has associations
have studied this matter and have
tried to find remedy.
In California the judges of the SUI
pceme court cannot draw their salaries
unless they certify there are no unde-
cfded cases pending in their court.
The real trouble, however, is that
that the courts are apt to look upon
legal proceedings as kind of game.
Their attention is not fixed so much on
the property or rights of the parties
to suit as on the rules of pleading, evil
dencs, and the verviage of indictments.
They consider themselves umpires,
whose function is to apply the highly
complicated rules of the game to the
learned counsel engaged as champions.
There never will be any relief from
the laws delay until the courts fix
their minds upon the interests of the
bstigants and let the learned counsel
take care of themselves. "A. B. Hart.
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