The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1921-03-23
DECISION Of
SUPREME COURT
IS LAST WORD

WASHINGTON, March 23.-The
phrase "and Il is so ordered with
which so many decisions OF the Unit
ed States Supreme Court are conclud-
ed is accepted by the legal profession
not only OF the United States but OF
the world rs the nearest approach
there is to absolute finality.
Petitions for rehearing of cases
are not infrequent OCCUPYING much
the same position in practice before
the Supreme Court the routine mo-
tion for a new trial does In the coun-
ty or city courts, but occasions or
which the Supreme Court has grant
ed such petitions are so rare that the
exceptions are historical.
Necessity OF bringing a legal dis
pute to a close at some point is said
to have influenced the policy OF the
court in this regard. a policy which
has stood since the days OF Chief
Justice Marshall.A secondary copsim
Grafton is the fact that the court is
always from eighteen months to two
years behind its calendar and, unless
optimistic attorneys were curbed
somewhere. the most trivial cause"
might be prolonged almost Indefinite
Iy.
Only two clear cut cases in which
the court has agreed to reconsider Its
formal decision are recalled by veter-
an attaches. The most famous was
the appearance Of the late Gen. Ben
jamin F. Butler as a friend Of the
court" to point out what he thought
was a palable error in the judgment
given in American Emigrant Com
pany vs. Adams County. The story is
told that Gen. Butler himself hesitat-
ed to take up the question OF a re-
hearing especially since the formal
motion had been denied but upon
reading the record In the case he do.
termined that the highest American
court should not be permitted to rest
under the false construction II had
promulgated.
"If your honors will read my brief,
I am certain you will be inclined to
thank me-" he is said to have replied
when the bench called his attention
to the violation OF practice-if not Of
clear ethics---he was making.
The Court read the brief and vol
unfairly reversed itself.
The second Outstanding incident
was that OF the original suits over
the federal income tax, heard in
1895. The first judgment upheld the
act partially. but declared II invalid
in respect TO certain important clas-
ses OF property. William ID. Guthrie,
OF counsel for the interests fighting
the statute. presented a petition for
rehearing. although his associates are
said to have argued strongly that "he
let well enough alone"
To their surprise the court granted
the rehearing and finally reversed
itself in part by declaring the entire
act unconstitutional. 1t was this de-
cision which led directly to enact
ment of the Sixteenth Amendment
giving Congress the power to levy a
tax on all income no matter from
what source derived, The Amend
ment did away with the constitution
al restriction which forbade the i'm
position of direct tax unless 1t was
apportioned in each state according
to population.
The rule of the court on rehear-
ings, as stated by Chief Justice Tahey
in 1852, is simple. No rehearing
would be granted. he said unless a
justice who voted for the judgment,
votes for the rehearing of It,"
when this court has made a
decision" prominent attorney said
In the course of arguing a famous
case of the past, at is like decree
of Venice, irreversible; and like the
laws of Medes and Persians which
altereth not, neither do they change.
The decision of this court is the eud