The New York herald., 1921-12-27
Three New Criminal Courts to
BE Established for Speedy
Trials.
LONG TERMS PROMISED
Police, District Attorney and
Board Of Judges Unite
for Action.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 25.-Philadelphia
has accepted the challenge Of the under
world. The battle for supremacy be-
tween the agencies of the law and the
forces of crime is now on.
Stirred by q succession of crimes
which day after day deprived Philadel-
phians of property and in several in
stances. lives. the courts. the police and
District Attorneys office have evolved
plans which will, 1t Is expected. reduce
crime in the Quaker City to a minimum
and bring about the comparative era Of
peace which prevailed In 1919 after one
OF the Judges of the courts had imposed
sentences amounting. all told, to 5sS
years during his month on the bench In
the criminal courts.
Long sentences and speedy trials are
believed to be the antidote, but not con-
WINGED that these methods will be best
the Board of Judges, which includes the
fifteen members of the Common Pleas
courts in Philadelphia county has re-
quested survey of criminal procedure
in the county. and the Philadelphia Law
Association has appointed q committee
to carry 1t out.
In furtherance OF hIs belief that
speedy trials will go a long way toward
checking crime Samuel p. Rotan, Dis
trict-Attorney, requested the Board of
Judges to establish q new criminal court
Al present there are three criminal
courts, the judges of the Common Pleas
courts taking turns In presiding over
them with changes every month.
The board, cooperating with the prose-
cutting attorney, went further than his
request, and beginning January there
will be six criminal courts In Philadel-
phia. The extra courts will be con-
tinued until the present criminal list Is
cleared UP. and as long thereafter as
is necessary to restore to Philadelphia
the peace and safety which its residents
demand.
The principal difficulty with only three
criminal courts in which to bring cases
against felons has been that, with the
crime wave at its height, it has been
impossible to rnete out quick justice
The courts have been overcrowded,
cases have been delayed, the county
prison filled to capacity, criminal law
yers skilled m their art have been
able to obtain delays and crooks have
been permitted to pursue their ways
virtually unhampered by law.
Many times thieves, already under
bail and awaiting trial, have been
picked UP a second time, and even a
third, in connection with other crimes.
The postponements which figure so
largely In the tactics of some of the
criminal lawyers has been effective. In
many cases the trials have been so long
delayed and the principal witnesses have
have forgotten SO many of the details OF
the particular crime in which they were
called that the criminals have been aible
to get off without punishment OF any
kind except the large amount of money
they paid to lawyers and professional
bailgoers, who have been reaping a
harvest
The proposition was put up TO the
Judges of the courts in forceful Ian
guage by the District Attorney. He in
formed them fatty that unless they CO.
operate with his department, and the
police, in providing the means for the
quickening of the arm of the law. that
he would not be responsible for the
continued reign of thieves, bandits, gun
men, burglars and their ilk.
The board did not dodge the respon-
sibilty. With the three new courts.
which have been granted, and which
will start operating with the new year,
VIII COfne ~ new era anu Tic WIttit VI
justice will he geared mp to a notch
never before reached in Philadelphia.
With the dockets cleared and about
1900 cases which are now awaiting
trial disposed OF. the courts and the
District Attorneys office will be pre-
pared to cope more successfully with
the criminal element
After the present cases have been at
tended to It will be possible II Is esti-
mated. to bring an offender to trial
within six days after the commission of
an offense.
With speedy trials provided for. the
District Attorney and Superintendent of
Police William 3. Mills are convinced
that the next step is the imposition OF
sentences which approach tie maximum
provided by law. Their opinion IL not
based on theory but on fact. 1t finds
its basis In their experience in 1919
when Philadelphia had its share of
criminal activity which was marked
throughout the nation. Life and prop
erty were menaced. and the police de-
partment worked night and day in an
Intellectual effort to stem the tide. Ar
rests were made by the score, but
nothing seemed to daunt the underworld.
Then two saloon bandits were rushed
to immediate trial before Judge John
Monaghan, who happened to be presid-
ing In a criminal court. The case
against them was clear. and there was a
wealth OF convincing testimony. They