Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-05
MOORE TO SPONSOR BILL
TO EASE JAM In COURTS
Unimportant Misdemeanors Would Be
Tried, Without Juries, Before Com
missioners, Under New Plan.

since it has been found that the plan
now in effect, of sending judges into
other districts than their own, does
| not take care of the congestion and
| is not entirely satisfactory.
Leaders in the profession and re.
| search students in the cause Of justice
| are agreed that there is nothing in
| the Constitution as construed by the
| Supreme Court to prevent Congress
| from authorizing the trial by court
commissioners, or other subordinate
officials to be designated, of very many
! criminal charges without the action of
| the grand juries and without trial
| juries. 1t may be noted that this can
| lawfully be done in the District of
| Columbia, as well as elsewhere, and
| if done, there would be much less
complaint of congestion and delay
here.
Independent of the pretty clear view
of the constitutional question, eX.
pressed by the court in numerous
decisions, precedent is found in the
statute now in effect for a long time,
under which all misdemeanors COM
mitted in the Yellowstone National
Park are tried on warrant, without
a jury. by court commissioner. with
right of appeal to the District Court
having jurisdiction over that area.
Three Plans Proposed.
Mr.. Moore has stated that one of
three plans might be considered, and
bills covering these plans are now
being prepared by the legislative
drafting service as alternative pro.
posals.
First. the trial without indictment.
and without jury, of all misdemeanors
not held Infamous" prior to the adop-
ton Of the constitution, and not
punishable by hard labor, could be
intrusted to the subordinate officials.
Second, the trial of such cases in
that manner might be directed by the
courts to the extent the courts think
proper, thus reserving a discretion to
the courts to determine what particu.
lar cases should be thus disposed of.
Third, the courts might be author
lied to dispense, in such cases. with
the formaiities now employed. so that
they could be tried by the judges with
out juries
Should it be objected that the new
method would reverse the practice of
jury trial of offenses. and infringe the
ancient right of an accused person
to demand jury trial, the answer
is that from the earliest days in Eng
land and also in the States, very
large category of misdemeanors have
been triable b. justices of the peace
and magistrates and that the change
would be nothing more than to as
simulate the procedure in the Federal
courts to that which has from time
immemorial obtained in the country
from which our laws were drawn, and
in the various States.
1t has been suggested by many
eminent lawyers who have studied
the conditions previously mentioned,
of the multiplication of misdemeanors
created by Federal statutes, which |
are giving the Federal courts a vast
amount of work with which they
were not burdened until recent years, |
that relief might be afforded by con-
ferring jurisdiction on the State
courts to deal with a large number
of such offenses.
In a recent issue of the Harvard
Law Review the subject is discussed
by Felix Frankfurter, much along the
same line as in the Virginia Law
Review. All of these discussions
focus attention on the agreement by
the legal profession that some relief
legislation by Congress is to be ex-
pected.