Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-05
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

TN an effort to relieve the Federal
courts from the congestion OF
business due to the large number
of comparatively unimportant mis-
demeanors, which have to be dis.
posed of with all the usual formali-
ties, including jury trials, legislation
will he urged in the coming session
of Congress by Representative r.
Walton Moore of Virginia with the
pledged support of Chairman Graham
of the House judiciary committee.
The court congestion on account of
demands for jury trials has been EN-.
phasiZed by the shortage of funds due
to the failure of the second deficiency
appropriation bill behind the Senate
filibuster in the closing days of the
Sixty.ninth Congress. The congestion
was intensified by a more general de-
mand for jury trials, knowing that
funds were not available and that de-
Law in trial of these cases would re-
suit with the inevitable advantage
TO the accused through such delay.
But the court congestion in Washing.
ton and all over the country has eX-
listed for years, and the relief legis-
lation was proposed early in the
SiXty-ninth Congress by Representa-
tive Moore, long before there was any
prospect of failure of funds.
Sub.Judiciary System.
Chairman Graham of the judiciary
committee spoke strongly in favor OF
this relief legislation in the House. ana
promised that his committee would
take it up for serious consideration
early in the coming session.
At that time Representative Moore
had a resolution pending, which he
cd he committees
slider, calling attention to the eXpedl-
ency of providing for the trial OF
cetrain class of such comparatively
unimportant miSdemeanorS by Subor-
dinate judicial officials-in effect, set
ting Up a sub-judiciary system.
1t was during the discussion of this
proposal in the House that Chairman
Graham expressed his purpose to have
the subject considered at the earliest
practical date by his committee Narl-
Gus conventions of the bench ana bar
and a number of law reviews have
been discussing the question, with par.
ticular reference to the Moore reSolu-
ton. About the end of the last ses-
sion the Law Review of the Univer-
sity of Virginia in an extensive article
pointed out that unless a means of
relief can be found, a rapid increase in
the number of district court judges
is inevitable. 1t called attention that
there has been very great increase
in the number of Federal statutes
which impose penalties for their vio-
lation. Recently the Department of
Justice compiled very complete and
memorandum enumerating
all Federal penal offenSes. 1t is prac-
tically impossible to even approximate
the total number. This is appalling
evidence of the extent to which the
Federal Government is now penaliZing
a great variety of offenses not here
tofore within the scope of the crini-
nal law.
Burdened With Work.
The district courts, which common
ly have exclusive jurisdiction over
cases arising under such statutes, are
now in many localities so burdened
with work as to be unable to keep up
with their dockets and give important
civil cases the attention they deserve.
The law reviewers argue that unless
partial jurisdiction is vested outside
of these courts. the improvident multi
plication of judges, which has of late
been rapid, must go on indefinitely,