Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-09
Clocking the Judges.

In his message to Congress President
Hoover declared that While conditions
here are much better than in many
other large cities, they are far from
perfect, and this is due in part to the
congestion of criminal cases in the SUI
preme Court of the District, resulting in
long delays"
In his letter to Senator Capper on
January 8, Attorney General Mitchell
writing on needed legislation to tighten
up law enforcement in the District
said;
I recommend legislation to provide
at once two additional judges for the
Supreme Court of the District. am in
closing for your information documents
containing a mass of statistical infor-
nation respecting the business of the
court, together with reports from its
chief justice and the United States at
torney. There Is no room for differ
ence of opinion as to the need for at
least one additional Judge. I am salts
fed that two additional judges should
now be provided and that the only
question about the second additional
Judge is whether he may be needed
after the lapse of three or four years. II
1t be deemed advisable to anticipate
that event, the legislation might pro-
vide that the first vacancy occurring
after the expiration Of four years shall
not be filled unless it be in the Office of
chief justice. to be filled by then adj
vancing an associate justice. There is
very serious congestion of cases in
that court. Criminal cases where the
accused are in jail without bond are
hoiV rr{N
ence. The calendar of cases where the
defendants are able to give bail is many
months behind. Delay in the trial of
criminal cases means lax law enforce
ment. Witnesses move away, die or
disappear. acquittals result, cases have
to be nolle pressed. guilty defendants
thus escape punishment and the whole
machinery of law enforcement slows
down and we lose the deterrent effect
Of speedy trial and punishment. A SIM
liar condition exists in the District re-
specting paddock injunction cases under
the national prohibition act, which
should be effective weapons in the en-
forcen1ent Of that statute There are a
large number Of those pending in the
District and it takes from one to one
and q half years to secure a trial in
such case after it is instituted. The
prompt trial and disposition of such
cases would tend to deter proprietors
ana tenants OF. real estate from allow
Ing the use Of their property for the
violations of the national prohibition
act: There is, likewise. a great delav
IN the trial of private civil cases in the
supreme Court of the District. The
equity calendar Is more than a wear he
nino. Such delays result often in de-
MAJ OF justice to private litigants, par
ucularly to poor people.
This statement will be borne in mind
and weighed against the results of a
secret investigator who jotted down the
time spent by judges of the District
supreme Court on the bench during
one OF the fifty-two weeks in the year
such results being used as an arou-
ment that If the judges sat in court
longer there would be no need to add
TO their number.
Leaving aside the question of ethics
involved in spying on the judges. one
may well ask what particular point
was proved by clocking them? The
test was apparently conducted during a
week when new juries were being Sc
lected and no criminal cases were as
signed for trial either on Monday or
Tueeday. leaving Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday and half a day Saturday for
trials In Criminal Court. The secret
agent who timed the judges would have
accomplished more thorough piece of
research work had he spent at least a
month in court, and his findings would
have been more convincing If they in
cluded the point Of view OF the judges
themselves.
If Congress fails to do everything
within its power to clear congestion in
the courts, law enforcement and re-
epect for law will suffer. The Gov
ernment's chief law oficer has recon-
rnended that the first step in clearing
this congestion is to appoint two ad-
ditional judges. They should be APP
pointed and furnished. if need be, with
appropriately engraved stop watches.