Evening star., 1928-11-20
Cut It Short!

A severe rebuke was yesterday ao-
ministered by the United States Su-
preme Court to the legal representa-
tives of New York City and Tie transit
corporations seeking a higher rate Of
fare. The case was recently argued on
appeal. Expectation was that deci-
sion would be forthcoming yesterday.
True to the tradition of the stcck-gam-
bling game, whispers had gone forth
that the highest court had leaked" the
secret that the decision would be favor
able to the transit companies. So the
stocks of the corporations went up in
the market Then came the announce
ment that, instead of rendering dec1-
sion, the court had ordered a reargu-
ment. But this was not all. The case
was ordered for rehearing because 1t
had been presented too voLuminously
In the first instance. Never before, so
far as the memory of man runs, has the
court thus publicly chastised tne counsel
In any case.
In the statement of this case to the
Supreme Court the city and the Tran
sit Commission filed seven briefs, with
a total of 992 pages, and the two transit
companies involved fled nine briefs
with total of $40 pages. Thus the
court was asked to read and digest six
teen separate briefs of 1902 pages, to-
gether with appendices and copies of
statutes, bringing the entire record up to
2,700 pages-87S,ooo words. This the
court declined to do. It ordered that
the case be restored to the docket for
reargument on the 14th Of January,
with the explicit direction that the old
briefs should not be filed, but that new
briefs should be offered, compact,
logically arranged with proper headings,
concise and free from burdensome ir-
relevant and immaterial matter"
The attorneys in this case on both
sides are eminent practitioners of law,
men of prominence in their profession
and of long experience They have
been engaged in important cases in the
past. Yet by the order of the Supreme
Court of the United States they have
been chided as though they were MEM
bers Of class at school. And the JUS
tice of the rehuke admnistered by the
court is in effect admitted. In COM
nenting upon the courts action, men,
berS of counsel acknowledge that their
briefs were too voluminous
Yet these briefs were not extraordi-
nary examples of present-day legal
papers. They were just the sort of
documents that are compiled and pre-
sented in courts throughout the coun-
try in important cases, and Il; is be-
cause these are typical of the matter
laid before the courts that the judicial
processes in this country are unbear-
ably slow.
The mere reading of the matter pre-
sented to the court in this New York
rapid transit case, 2,70O pages, COM
prising $4,000 words, would occupy one
member Of the court fully two weeks
of diligent application with regard for
intelligent understanding.
No case should ever be presented TO
court that cannot be fully comprehend
ed through perusal of printed matter by
one days reading. Whether that Is
the scale that is In the mind of the
Chief Justice in ordering lehesring
of this case does not appear. Probably
every member Of the Supreme bench, as
of all other benches of this country,
would wish to see such a scale adopted.
And it could be without risk of injus-
tice, without the least danger to any
good cause brought before a court.
It is to be hoped that this action in
the New York rapid transit case will
set an example that will be followed
throughout the country in all courts,
State and Federal, to the end of a
shortening of tbs records and a saving
of time in the discharge of the judicial
function of government.