The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1920-03-20
Judge Dupre Favors an
Appointive Judiciary

your questions, other than the No. l
which reads as follows:
"11-There is a feeling also that
we have too many poor and poorly
paid judges, and that we have allowed
the judiciary system in certain place:
to be contaminated and degraded BY
political influences. There is a ques
ton as to whether the decent lawyer:
of Louisiana are not primarily res
ponsible for this feeling, by failure tt
associate themselves in such fashion
that no unfair man can obtain the
bench and that no judge who becomes
unfit can sit in judgment on the right
of his fellow men.
''The. respect for the courts, which
is all-important in our civilization,
should be maintained through the
lawyers Of the bar insisting that the
courts, from the highest to the low
est, be competent and respectable.
Sand back Of those lawyers of the
bar should be an organized sentiment
among business men and working
men and the press to work to keep
the courts of justice from being faint
ed. Can not these men be associated
more actively to prevent improper
politics from doing harm to our in
stitutions?
"Law has a great tradition. The
Louisiana bar has produced some of
the great lights of legal learning.
What should be done in Louisiana to
reassure us all in this important mat
teri"
The remedy is to appoint all judges
who viii hold their office during life
or good behavior. AS long as the
people are permitted to elect their
Judges, you are going to have poor
Judges and you are going to have
something worse than this. Judges
PLAYING politics on the bench. Judges
are human beings. When they are
required, as are our district judges,
to 90 before tie people every four
wears and solicit their votes whereby
to hold their Jobs, they play politics
the same as q sheriff or clerk OF
court. And when they have been
through bitter contest as frequently
occurs in this state, they have their
friends to reward, their enemies to
punish. And in many instances they
reward their friends, punish their en-
emies.
have practiced law before judges
who punished me because forsooth |
had rot supported their candidacy.
Any lawyer who opposes the cleo
ton Of district judge, never eats
s'bee bread" at the judges table. He
has an uphill fight in the court room'
which in many cases he can not over
come in the appellate courts.
In my opinion, our judges are suf-
ficiently paid. In many instances we
have men of mediocre ability on the
district bench, who could not make
three thousand dollars year, strive
as they might. A number of these
do very little work. Some with one
parish only are idle much of the time.
and vet they receive pay envelope
o,,o,.,, Month with two hundred and
fifty dollars.
do not believe that there IS an
appellate judge in the country par
ishes who can make four thousand
dollars annually. And / do not be-
lieve there is a supreme court justice
who can get off the bench and earn
his six thousand dollars praeticing
law. If he could earn more than this
amount he would not be on the bench.
They are, in my mind, all of them,
sufficiently paid. Quite number OF
district judges are at present under
worked,
They should all of them be ap-
pointed for life. This would remove
a mar from temptation to assist his
friends, punish his enemies. The
Judge would feel he owed it to him
self to do his duty. He would not
know the litigants as it were. Would
not care to know whether the plain
tiff could control fifty votes or one.
All lit:zsnts would then look alike to
him. II he had any manhood, any
sense oF sslf-respect, any desire to win
applause from the bar and to leave an
name to his children, ne
would DO his duty with an eye single /
TO the Sable good. To cause him to
play poiitics in order to maintain his
seat. Is to hold out inducements to |
him to s,n against the public welfare.
| have seen supreme judges out
here. Re- this parish, soliciting votes.
haye seen them go into saloons and
drink whiskey and hob-nob with the
multitude. This made me sick. They
IAN not do this any more, but going
around soliciting votes as they must
10, is lowering the dignity of the of
'ics. A 4 so long as district judges
AVE &c ay politics to maintain their