The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-07-21

II ny justice
Full many gem of purest ray serene,
The dark, unfathomed caves of
oceans bear, "+, :,
Full many a flower is born to bud I'M
seen, ..s
And waste its sweetness on the des-
ert air.,j% t&l y
Gray.
l regret the editors of some big
dailies do not like me and do not
care to aid the cause Of judicial re-
form by publishing my weekly letters.
l think it is the first time that ever
supreme court Judge has undertaken
to give the press and the. people week
ly letters in regard to the public serv-
ice. On such matters the people have
been kept in utter darkness, and, of
course, they have had poor service,
and so it must ever be until the press
and the people show some special in
terest in public affairs and in the do,
ings of their public servants. With
out any supervision or control, &C
counting or reporting, 1t is folly to
look for good service; of course, a
letter must not be a mere report. 1t
must be readable, or it will not be
read.
This week we charged one Judge
with an absence of two full days and
now hope that he will make up for
month of lost time.
AS we read some few weeks ago
the United States supreme court ad-
journed for three months with $50
cases undecided. OF course that is
not good business and it is fearful
moral wrong 3 1t is an objectionable
sin. When judges quit their work
and steal the time for which they are
we'll paid they put themselves on a
level with other stealers. Time is
money. To steal time for which a
Judge is paid a good bunch of money
is in effect the same as stealing the
money, and the Judge who does it can
not be regarded as truly honest
man. He should be impeached and
removed from Office There is no
sense or reason for the judges Of any
supreme court being one, two or three
years, or even six months or three
months, behind with their work. II
the judges are not competent to do
the work and to decide every case
within three months, they should have
manhood and decency enough to re-
sign and quit their jobs:
In all supreme courts there are
what are known as the laws delays.
These are due mainly to the lack of
| business methods the writing of long
winded decisions and the federation
of frivolous appeals and motions. In
our supreme court the writing of long
winded decisions is a grievous cause
of delay. With mass of impending
business a judge sits down and passes
as.week in writing a decision of two
dozen. or more pages on some small,
kindergarten matter. He quotes plead
ings and documents and quotations
from other decisions all around the
country. HE discusses points and mat
tiers in no way necessary to a cor
rect and lucid decision of the case
Such decision is never published
in the newspapers and 1t is never
read, unless BY few attorneys who
have not much to do. It never con-
vinces the dS Ated party and the 9TH
er party needs no convincing. Hence,
1t serves no. useful purposes. You
remember the suit to GUST the state
board of regents, Within three days
after it was argued my short decision
of three pages was written and given
to the press, As,iit was brief, and
was, based on the, constitution and
pure reason, 1t was published on the
front pages Of some 1lawspapers and
it was read; but, thelilohg, laborious
decisions have not been read. They
are buried meath the bosom of the
deep.
In the constitution it is written that
when judgment is reversed or az
firmed by the supreme court, every
point fairly arising on the record of
the case must be considered and de-
cided. Hence. some judges spin out
their decisions by noting and discuss
ing every point noted by counsel, even
though it be in no way material. They
argue as the lawyer giving 10 reasons
for the absence of witness, the first
reason being that he is dead. OF
course, one such reason is quite suffi-
cient; and soEin any lawsuit when one,
two or threespOints are conclusive. lit
is sheer folly to discuss the other
points. ,
In State vs.. O'Hare, I N. D., the
Judge wrote decision or commentary
of % pages, when it should not have
exceeded two pages-and there are