The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1916-04-28
SOCIAL SCIENCE FOLKS
DISCUSS THE STATUTE
Number of Reforms Are Called
For BY Speakers
LAWYERS ARE "PANNED''
Practices and Procedures in
Legal Tribunals Criticised
Very Freely

nesses, the practice of importing into
the state of Minnesota personal in
jury cases from other states, perjury
and many other abuses were dis
cussed at last nights meeting of the
Social Science club in the library of
DR.. J. W. Andrews. The topic of
the evening was Proposed Changes
in Judicial Procedure.
An election CT officers took place
with the following results: President,
NJ. A. Nichols; vice president, Rev.
r. w. Hobbs; secretary, DR.. NJ. T..
Coulter, reelected; members OF
executive committee, w. d. Willard
and G. S. Peterson.
Much of the material OF the general
discussion was furnished in the pap
er read by Judge Lorin Cray, who said
in part: i4ts
"If l were to suggest a radical re-
form in our judicial procedure,
would say let us reform ourselves, and
we will be a long way toward the
goal.
"One of the most potent causes OF
the miscarriage of justice is perjury
by the witnesses.
Gases which are tried on the honest
testimony of witnesses are the eXcep-
ton rather than the rule.
.One cause of this is total depravity
on the part of some human beings:
another is, lawyers who will manu-
facture testimony.
penalties for these offences can
not be too severe. and yet we seldom
hear of prosecutions of such.
Another cause, usually most
evident in personal injury cases, is
the unrelia bility of much so-called
expert testimony. A professional man
is asked to become witness on one
side or the other, and too often he at
once considers that he is retained to
win the case for his employer, and the
result is that the most common ques-
tions that arise in particular pro-
fession, find experts arrayed against
each other, some on one side, some on
the other, squarely contradicting each
other in a manner that they woulo
never dare indulge in in clinic or
consultation. | have heard profess
sional expert say that he had won the
case for his employer.
Wanted $1oO Per Day.
when the typhoid epidemic fell
upon us here and we were threatened
with many law suits because OF it,
we sought the assistance of a schOoled
bacteriologist from the university,
who informed us that he would appear
for a retainer of $1,000, and 500 per
day for the time spent.
Had he been retained, what do
you think as to which side his testi-
mony would have been given for,
and as to whether his testimony may
have been little colored?
1.-The constitution of the United
States provides that the citizens of
each state shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of citizens
in the several states; and also that
no state shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the
United States, nor deny to any per-
son within it's jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
"These provisions of the federal
constitution have been quite success
fully played against the provisions of
our state constitution.
Has Been Probing.
For more than three years last
past the ethics committee of the State
Bar association has been investigating
and trying to correct this growing
evil And let me give you few facts
which have been learned about i'm
porting cases into Minnesota for
trial, from other states, where they
could be better and more economically
tried for both parties, cases imported
into this state by well organized
bureaus of lawyers, for purely selfish
purposes.
'Salaried solicitors are employed,
one firm of lawyers alone having en-
ployed forty-fve railroad employees
as solicitors.
Hospitals and medical staff have
been provided, for the purpose of pro-
viding medical treatment for nom
resident injured persons while await
ing trial Of their causes in this state.
Lecturers are employed, and much
literature is distributed to railroad
employees, and employees are con-
stantly reminded that the courts of
Minnesota are the most desirable
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