Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-14
ABOLITION OF Jury
+
SYSTEM IS URGED
Radical Changes Advocated
to Assure Proper Plan
of Justice.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
stan Correspondent of The Star.

lem by Prof. Raymond Motley OF Co
lumbia University, before the Institute
of Public Affairs here tonight.
Prof. Moley urged that powers OF
judging guilt be taken from juries and
public prosecutors and placed In the
hands of judges, and that sentences
be indeterminate, with the criminal
intrusted to parole boards.
Much of the present difnculties are
due to the antiquated system of Justice,
he said. The jury, Prof. Moley insist
ed. Is falling into disrepute, and con-
tended that II never was q democratic
Anglo.Saxon institution, but q heritage
from Frankish tyrants. Recently, ne
said, 1t has been responsible for out
standing miscarriages Of Justice.
General Distrust.
This has resulted In . general dis
trust which has thrown much OF the
work of juries into the hands OF the
public prosecutor, often an elected Of
ffcial, through the two devices OF mol
pressing and accepting pleas Of guilty
to crimes less than those charged. The
Judge, he pointed out, has little to say
about 1t. II the district attorney thinks
his case Is weak he assumes the au-
thority OF releasing the defendant
practically acquitting him-through q
mol pros. II q fight is likely he will
accept q lesser plea to save time and
money and to augment his record OF
convictions. This last, Prof. Moley
said, Is Illogical, because 1t results In
creating a crime which never existed.
II a man steals $500, that is what he
should be tried for-not for stealing
$50. Out Of $4,000 persons arrested In
Chicago in 1926. he pointed out, there
were only $50 jury trials.
The Judge would merely pass on the
defendants guilt. He would have moth
ing to say about the sentence which
would be entirely in the hands Of q
board of experts such as that proposed
last year by ex-Gov. Smith OF New
York, which Prof. Motley called "one OF
the most enlightening proposals ever
made by a public official" All sentences
would be. indeterminate. based on the
boards study of the needs OF the in
dividual case.
Nobody knows how long q man
should serve for particular crime, "
he said. That is fortune telling and
Judges are not fortune tellers. 1t all
depends on the progress OF the indivi-
dual case"
Five, or six indnpr dent churches In
a village Of 90 hundred poor people,
hiring inf . ministers on starvation
wages, IL ling each others threats, and
waiting for the wind to blow them
down. hardly make for the welfare OF
the community, said Rev. DIR. William
r. King of New York. secretary OF the
Home Mission Council.
He urged members Of such congrega.
tons to unite, reduce their theological
differences to the minimum, hire one
tate nA fhanna AlVae
to improving the moral and social life
Of the community.
Rev. DR.. J. w. Jent, president OF the
Southwestern Baptist College at Boil
var. Mo-, admitted DR.. Kings conten-
tions, but said 1t was beside the point
because q church never was intended
as q social agency to be measured by
the material good It accomplished.
In prohibition cases, he said, the plea
to Q lesser offense actually constitutes
a rough licensing system In the hands
OF the prosecuting attorney.
% The proper person to exercise this
discretion In criminal cases" Prof.
Moley said, lis the judge. Granting
that. there are exceptions, the ableSt,
most respected public ofhcials we have
are the judiciary. We should look to
them for improvement"
Should Forget Politics.
The Judge, Prof. Moley said. must be
entirely outside political influence,
selected by the Executive purely for his
ability. In the appointment of Federal
Judges in particular. he urged COM
piete break with the traditional system
of senatorial dictation.
II hope" he said, that the Hoover
commission will consider q change In
the present method of appointing Fed
eral judges through the influence OF
Senators as one of its major problems.
The Federal bench is good, but 1t could
be q lot better II selected by the Presi-
as he could get from the Department Of
Justice and members of the bar"
Combinations of churches, he said,
are neither spiritual or natural, and are
in contradiction to the New Testament
Membership In q church, DR.. Jent con-
tended, is not based on intellectual con-
viction alone, but on spiritual expert
ence which constitutes absolute knowl-
edge,
ed. ARE not only unscriptural: they not
only minimize. contradict and violate
fundamental principles Of personal re-
ligion: but they are not scientific. They
must be repudiated as psychologically
and sociologically unsound."
American interyentions In Caribbean
countries apparently are unavoidable
cannot be condemned under interna-
tional law, and are in the interests of the
oppressed of those countries, said Henry
Kittredge Norto I, author and lecturer,
last night, but he pointed out that much
criticism might be avoided "by refining
the methods of intervention" so that 1t
will be clearly distinct from war.
1T is very well to insist" he said
'tnat TOO, 900 people In Nicaragua have
an absolute right to solve their political
problems as they see At. But we must
and something more substantial than
the obsolescent dogma OF absolute
sovereignty to answer the opposing con-
tention that Toe, 900 Nicaraguans should
not be allowed so to conduct their af-
fairs as to imperil the safety OF 120,-
900, 900 American and injure the enorm-
Gus sea horne commerce which depends
on the Panama Canal"
Cynical Toward Democracy.
America Is cynical toward democracy
but there are no leanings In this
country toward monarchy, declared
Dean w. J. Shepard of the School OF
Liberal Arts, Ohio State University, Tn
an address today at the institute.
Citizens of the United States see In
monarchy that element Of national
leadership which rises above party and
faction, and they wish that the demo.
cratic system of government might
yield q similar development, but tradi.
ton insures the continuance Of the
form of government established by the
present Constitution, he said.
DR.. Edgar w. Knight of the Univer.
sity Of North Carolina In an address
bsfora the institute condemned the dis.
trict school as 70 relic Of pioneer
daysr and approved the county educa-
tional unit. Intellectual teachers. lacl
of supervision, unenlightened school
boards and poor equipment doom the
District school pupil to q gloomy
archaic, provincial type Of education
Dr. knight declared.
Ae
49,. - - n.- ,asANE