Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-10-08
AN ASTOUNDING DISCLOSURE.
TS!oux City Tribune.]

ES!ouX City Tribune
Law is supposed to be uniform in
its application and il has never been
intended, in the United States, at least,
that the relations between attorneys
and court should cause a miscarriage
of justice or put a premium upon vice.
Government by manipulation or favor
ism is intolerable.
To have one set of court officials less
concerned about upholding law and
order than another set Of court Off
Gals in the same community is plainly
demoralizing. The Change OF venue"
privilege is designed to avoid prejudice
in the hearing OF cause. and was
never intended to operate as an OBJ
struction to the doing Of justice. Yet
under our present system OF practice
the law is perverted 50 that a state
examiner, NJ. F. Cox. is able 10 report
that 40l cases Of prosecution for law
violation in Sioux City have been first
transferred by change Of venue from
the city court to county court and
then lost. No wonder law breakers
have felt secure in Sioux City.
1t is probable that explanations may
be made in regard to many of the cases
lost" after being transferred from po-
lice court to justice court by change Of
venue. In some instances. the COM
plants may have been withdrawn be-
fore the merits of cases could be per-
fected. Prosecuting officers certainly
do not have the moral right, even II
| they have the legal right to arbitrarily
drop criminal proceedings on the as
sumption that Justice can not be OBJ
tanned in the court where the hearing
is transferred. Neither does Justice
Of the neace have legal or moral right
| TO obliterate the record, after a trans
fer has been made But prosecutors
| may become so discouraged that they
lose hope.
Justices of the peace in Iowa now
are saiaried officials and all fees and
| fines collected belong to the public
| treasury. It would be possibie-aitho
| not charged in the Sioux City cases
for a justice Of the peace to collect
a s25 fine. fail to docket the case and
keep the money.
All Of the lost cases. listed in
Examiner Cox's report should be sifted
| down thoroughly. The Justices are en-
| LiIAtd " SiHu!cdtIOnAll me OMISSIONS
can be accounted for without reflect
ing upon them, and they are entitled to
| censure if they have been guilty of
such conduct of their office as to en-
courage lawlessness. The Tribune
| withholds judgment on this point.
During the past few years rumors
| have been IN circulation that Wood
| bury county has paid jail feeding bills
| for committed persons after they had
| been set at liberty, but no previous at
| tempt had been made to check up on
! these rumors. Examiner Cox's report
| deals with this subject as follows:
The city Jail calendar does not show
| the disposition Of the cases beyond
April is. 1916. The sheriff's jail call
| enGaE IN e;i - &c ses shows
charges for lodgings and full days
meals where the prisoner has been re-
| leased on the day of commitment and
| also shows charges for meals and lodg-
Ing for the full time OF sentence in
! some cases when the fine has been
paid"
This is serious aspess!on upon the
! management Of the sherin's office, and
coming az II does In connevtiio1. ~; = -: !:
| the report of the Toss" Of so many
prisoners from the police court by
reason OF changes Of venue, It 10 made
doubIy serious.
| This Cox report indicates business
for the county department Of Justice.
and the people OF the county will ex-
| npcf thar dapa - -, ny,f ~ 40 ~ d,,fv