The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1916-12-14
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COURT TRIANGLE
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If Justices Elect Attempt To Hold
Up Salaries Tribunal Will
Be OF Again
NO MEMBERS WILL BE IN /
POSITION TO HEAR CASE

cember and of presenting vouchers
for themselves and demanding pay
ment for this period, there is in pros
pect for the supreme court Of North
Dakota an even more complicated
tangle than that which the provisional
supreme court endeavored to straight.
en- out with its decision Monday.
Again No Court.
The result of the litigation which
would, it is stated, inevitably follow
such action would be to again involve
the question, when is a supreme
court?'
The retiring justices, sustained in
their rights to serve until January by
the decision OF the provisional court,
undoubtedly will contest any effort to
attach their pay.checks.
Any litigation which may arise in
this matter eventually will find its.
way into the supreme court. When it.
does, carrying out the contention Of
both the retiring members and the
justices-elect, there is not a single
duly-elected member of that bench,
present or prospective, who will be
qualified to. hear the case.
Everyone Is Affected.
The old question which the Justices
elect announce they will bring up is:
the one just settled by the provisional
court, attacked from another angle. In
the settlement of this question every
present member of the supreme bench
including Judges Bruce and Christian
son, is concerned. For, while Bruce
and Christianson hold over, two and
four years from now, respectively,
they will face the possibility of losing
one months salary, if the contention
Of the justices-elect should be upheld
by any future tribunal. OF course, the
justices-elect, after being seated, will
re disqualified to hear question IN
vOlving personal gain to themselves. j
District Judges Out.
The natural course, as dictated by
the constitution, would be for the SUI
preme court to call in district judges
as a provisional court to sit on this
question Tut, following out the con-
tenticn OF the Justices eject, these dis
trict Judges must be called in by dis.
interested parties, and there amt no.
such ANIMAL So there you are. the
supreme court can't hear the case,
because it is disqualified; and the dis.
trict Judges cannot hear it, because
there is no one qualified to constitute
a provisional court Of district judges.
The one alternative suggested Is for
the bar association to organize court
Of arbitration, before which the ques-
lions could be threshed out.
Only Seven Qualified.
Should there be found some way OF
another provisional court
composed Of district judges, only sew
en- Of the states twelve district 5urists
would be qualified to serve. Judges
Pollock, Crawford, Leighton and Nues.
sic already have ruled on the question.
while Judge Hanley has declared hinl.
self disqualified. There would remain
Charles M. Colley of Grand Forks, u
w. Buttz Of Devils Lake, Frank Z. Al
lon Of Lisbon, w. J. Kneeshaw of PEN
bina. A. G. Burr of Rugby and Frank
E. Fisk Of Willistop. After January
/ there will be an eighth eIglDle IN
A T. Cole, who succeeds Judge Q. AL
Pollock in the Third district.
No Notices Served. -
To date no notices have been serv.
ed ON state Auditor Jorgenson ana
state Treasurer Steen, nor has the
controversy been brought to their at
tention in any official way.