Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1918-04-27
REFORM LAW PRACTICE.

The whole method of court and
practice procedure in Illinois is so
antiquated and obsolete as to be scan.
dalous.
mo one is going to be hurt by
legislation perfecting an organization
of our courts and there is no reason
why Judge, lawyer and legislator
should not work to q common end;
that of bringing to our court system
the modernized organization necessary
to make It efficient" according to
Charles S. Cutting, former judge OF
the Probate court and former pres
ident of the Chicago Bar Associa-
ton, who made the remark In dis.
cussing Governor Lowden's movement
to bring the subject to an issue In the
general assembly which meets next
January. Mr.. Cutting has made much
study of the subject and will take an
active part with the state admins
tration and legislators In framing the
preliminary draft of the proposed leg.
islation. He has some decided ideas
on the subject, and, with the Lowden
administration driving ahead at the
task, he sees the big stumbling block
encountered heretofore removed.
THE trouble has been to get pro.
gram that all will agree upon" said
Mr.. Cutting. Il may think this should
be done and some one else has another
idea, and still another thinks some.
thing else Is the essential thing. With
the state administration directing the
legislation 1t will be possible to bring
all elements together and it will be q
give.and.take proposition"
Mr.. Cutting prefaced what he had to
say by asserting that two essentials
stand out in any change in court leg.
islation.
Organization and men," is the way
he put 1t. you may tinker with
practice and methods all you have q
mind, but you must have the right
kind of men to execute and admin.
lister the laws II you are going to
get results. You must have men will.
ing and anxious to work as well as
being able lawyers. They must be will.
ing to devote their entire time to their
judicial duties. The Judge who attends
TO his duties has no time for politics"
Mr. Cutting would go farther In
legislation than the present consti.
tutional limits will permit, and for
this reason he hopes that the consti.
:utional convention resolution will be
ratified at the November election.
When he talked Of judges and politics
he put forth his idea on this, for he
retired from the Probate court
judgeship because OF the whirlpool OF
politics.
Il believe the judge who has stood
the test and has been elected twice
should be kept In Office pending good
behavior" said Mr.. Cutting. Those
who have gone into constitutional re
strlctions find a way TO get this under
the charter amendment. Other com
prehensiye changes are possible, they
declare.
There should be organization and
consolidation in our court system,
went on Mr.. Cutting. In this county
for instance, under our state laws
We have five courts--the Circuit, Su
perIor, Municipal, County and Probate
! favor one court, divided into divi
s!ons, each division to have a chief
justice, with one chief justice OF this
unified court The superintendent
Of departments OF this court would be
the executive committee TO make the
rules, assign the judges and put them
where they are needed. There should
be some one power to assign judges
for now we find this Judge working
hard and across the way is another
who has no work. With the proper
organization the judges could be dis
tributed where they are needed
Tn the County court now they have
TO bring in county judges 10 help out
and the Probate court work has
grown so that 1t is almost necessary
for authority TO call upon or have
assigned other judges TO help out in
the work. You cannot do these things
now, because there IL no concurrent
jurisdiction, In the light OF modern
business efficiency Is there any sense
in such an organization? We have