New Britain herald., 1923-09-20
MINOR CASES ANNOY THE SUPREME COURT
High Tribunal Is as Coneesltd as
 in Past Years


 pEeme court Is making nc material progress in clearing its docket, whea i' meets oelabeF ta begin its next term it will find substantially as many eases awaiting consideration as year ag0,
 This condition is not due ia lack of effort, for no matter how fast the court speeds nn it's disposition ef Gases the accumulation upon it's docket keeps pace, The real trouble, in the aninion Of attorneys practice ing before the court, is that the ans peilale Jurisdiction Of the highest tribunal is sought by many litigants whose controversies do moi present questions worthy of its consideration, and who should not be permitted to consume its time,
 Congress has from time 10 time at- tempted te solve the problem by leg islaiien, hut laws are slow in reform Inf human nature, As long as the court Is open to those who would use it 10 delay the execution Of sens fences or take last desperate chance 10 have m adverse decision reversed. its doekeis will be crowded with eases in which an appeal Is asked merely 10 postpone the inevita- hle day when the prison doors must close on the petitioner, or when Judgment must be paid.
 Owing 10 tho congestion Of bnsi- ress n ..se filed today will not he reached by tho court for argument within IS months unless II is inclnd- cd in that comparatively small num- her advanced for hearing out of turn. Although substantially 100 more cases were disposed Of last term than ir 1918. the court docketcd during that period 50 moro than in 1918. md had at the end of the term nn- disposed of only 4o less cases than it had at corresponding period live years ago. Tho comparative insigni- ficance Of this inroad into the accu- mutation of business is evident when it is known that the number of cases annually docketed Is in excess of L. 900. Should the court be able to maintain tho progress made during the last Ave years. 1t will be 45 years before it's docket is cleared. :.
 It apparently was the original in- tention that the time Of the court would be given to the decision of con stitutional question and legal con troversies of national importance, and the establishment of precedents in disputed features of new laws. But when Congress attempted to assist in that design by restricting the causes in which lower courts could grant appeals, it really opened new avenue for overcrowing. It gave the court discretion to itself to deter- mine when it would grant appeals in those cases in which appeals were not granted by the lower courts so that now endless periods of time are con- sumed hearing the petitions of liti- gants whose contentious are found In the end to be of insufficient general importance to warrant the supreme court in reviewing them. k
 Court is TorInented
 The court cannot determine wheth- CT any particular application asking an appeal under writ of ceertierari possesses sufficient merit to warrant it without an examination of the pa pers submitted. Each Justice there fore must prepare himself to discuss the case at weekly conference, giv- ing to each application substantially as much time as would be required to dispose of a case by formal de- cision. Those cases which the court does decide to hear must then be studied a second time when they come up for argument and decision.
 The cases which the court can be required to decide only after 1t first has consented to consider them, cover virtually every question ever made the subject of litigation. Aside from criminal and civil cases brought sole ly for delay. the class of cases mak- ing the most impossible demands upon the time of the court are those arising under the Federal Employers Liability act patent and trade mark infringements, and claims. All of these groups of cases are dependent, lawyers point out, upon an accurate ascertainment of the facts involved. which can only be done in trial court leaving lower appellate courts to determine whether the law had been properly applied under the con- ditions found to have been presented by the facts. !,
 Law Established
 A long line of decisions by the su- preme court has clearly established the law in liability, patent, trade mark and claims cases. Nevertheless hundreds of cases falling in these groups and involving issues which