The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-10-05
NEW LIGHT ON CRIME,
By FREDERIC J. HASKlN

An English jurist who visited Chicago
not long ago remarked that the United
States had developed two courts of IN
ternational mportance-courts the form
and principle OF which would spread tc
other nations. One he said was the
United States Supreme Court; the
other was the Municipal Court as IN
Institution
The Municipal Court of Chicago was
the first of its kind, as it still is the
largest. 1t is a court organized on
business principles, and as a resul. OF
Its form of organization it has deve.
l)ped number of branch courts OF
much interest and of nj tional import.
lance.
When the necessity for a new court
called for its organization, the business
men OF Chicago got together and put
in lew suggestions as to how a court
ought to be run. They thought court
ought to be organized like a corpora
ton, with an executive officer and a
board of directors, The executive is
the Chief Justice, and the board of di.
rectors are the thirty-one judges who
meet with him once a month to talk
| over the administration of justice. The
judges are all elective. of course; but
in between elections they have a pretty
free hand, and make and adopt their
own rules within the limits. The Chief
Justice has large powers. He can as
sign any one of his thirty-one judges tc
any class of cases he sees fit.
The most interesting thing that has
resulted from this way of running a big
court is the specialization feature.
About 200, 600 cases of all sorts come
before the Municipal Court every year.
They include every kind of a case that
can come before court, from the tria
of the tobacco masticatiHg enthusiast
who eXpectorates on the public pave.
ments to.judgments like one which the
court passed affecting the validity of d
Sc, 600, 600 bond issue. 1t has always
been a great court TO give experience
to its judges, and the idea of special
zation has enhanced this advantage IN.
tint makes experts of them IN theiI
lines
The Chief Justice having power tC
assign any case to any judge, all that
Is necessary to create a specialized
court is to assign all cases to a certain
Judge Then he will get such cases il
an unendIDg procession until he know.
every variety and subsl ecies like hi.
middle name. They have a specia
court, for instance. for auto speeding
cases. One judge hears all the speed.
ers. He Is probably the nations lead.
ing authority on speeders by this time
Another judge sat and heard cases Of d
certain involved civil type until he wa,
able to write book about them that j.
the recognized authority. What he
didn' [ know to start with, the ablest
lawyers in Illinois were sitting up night:
to Study and tell him. The specia
knowledge that the Judge thus acquire.
Is a good thing, not only for the great
er weight that it lends to his decisions
but because lawyers know that he
knows and respects him accordingly
1t is an excellent thing for the com
munity when the judge knows more
than the best attorney either side car
hire.
The special branches Of the Mum
cipal Court that interest the average
man most-and they are the most truly
gniticant- are the Domestic Relation.
Court, the Boy Court, and the Moral.
| Court. Here the advantages of speci
ahzaton show up more clearly. The
judge of the Domestic Relations Court
gets all the cases involving trouble be.
tween husband and wife, and wrongs
against women and children.
Consider what that means Not only
is it possible to select a judge who has
a special aptitude for dealing with such
cases, and give him every opportunity
to learn by hundreds OF instances what
is at the bottom of them and what
measures are efficacious in restoring
domestic bliss where it is pc gible to re.
store it, but by Jumping the cas- IS in one
court ut became possible to build VI
around that court an elaborate machine
for helping the parties concerned.
Domestic Relations cases are cases of 4
very human nature All the family
cases Of the poor come up for redress
And as d result Of the bringing them
altogether, relief agencies get about
thirty times as good chance to work
on them as if they were scattered il
thirty different courts.
The Domestic Relations Court i: