The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1935-10-29
AN EXAMPLE THAT MIRRORS ALL
, NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES

NOklH CAKOLINA SOONllES
.Gastonia Gazette is waging campaign
td ge before the public the facts as to law
enforcement in CASTOR county. This news
paper used page of small type to list 25O
cdses in the courts of that county that have
been dragging along for, years, for one al
legged reason or another.'tThe Gazette has
called attention to the fact that bonds
amounting to around S35, 900, in 142 cases,
are in default and no effort is being made
to collect them. Also, The Gazette says
that recently 81 cases which should have
been tried before juries were wiped off the
docket by the Solicitor.
The GastOnia newspaper has this to say
of the practice of mol pressing cases in Su-
periOr court:
'"The question naturally arises in the minds Of
the people as to why the solicitor marked these 81
cases off entirely instead of asking the governor
for a special term to try them and large number
of others still undiSposed Of
Each case was put there after a grand jury
hearing in which that body held that the evidence
was such in each case as to warrant trial. Each
case has cost the county time, money and trouble.
Yet the costs in these cases falls right back on the
backs of the taxpayer.
IF the grand jury thought these eases should be
tried, why turn "a defendants scot free without
even an attempt to try them? Is this method, il
continued ever going to bring about situation in
CASTOR county where people-the criminal element
at least-win have any respect for law?
''IttakeS mo Tfeparations no ability, no time, 70
FOL ~;
manner.
THAT is the reason the state pays prosecuting
attorney $4,000 to represent it as chief court off
Ger for the county"
The campaign of The Gazette pictures
conditions in CASTOR county, based on a
substantial foundation of facts and statis-
tics; and that newspaper is being quoted
over the State as having adopted plan
which offers a reason, or number of rea-
sons, for the failure of law enforcement.
Citizens and tax payers have a right to
this information and it would be a COM
mendable policy if it could be complied
and published IN every county in North
Carolina. CASTOR county may be an excep-
tonally bad example in this connection,
but we doubt ifsthat is true. Conditions
there are probably no worse than in all the
other populOus counties The showing
made in some ofathe small counties might
not be so startling, but it is probable that
IN proportion to population number of
them would make as poor showing as Gas
ton.
On the court dockets of one county $50
forgotten" cases., which have not been
disposed OF but are hanging on and imped-
ing the administration of Justice In the
same county ZAP cases in which there are
uncollected bonds of S35,OOO; and then
the Solicitor, probably spurred to action
by the publicity given conditions by the
CASTOR newspaper, makes an effort to dc
something to clear the Superior court
docket by the mol pros device.
Much of the answer to the question as
to what is the matter with law enforce
ment in North Carolina, in all of the 10O
counties, is to be found in the conditions
existing in CASTOR county, which are much
like the existing conditions in all OF the
counties. Delays in getting the business Of
the courts transacted, unreasonable con.
tinuance of cases, throwing cases out b,
the mol pros route after they have beer
presented by the grand juries, failure tt
collect fines and bonds, suspended SEN
fences, failure to see that all orders of the
courts are carried gspt YEtR efficiency an