Evening star., 1937-05-23
COURT PLAN IS HELD
CIRCUIT BENCH PERIL
Proposal Holds Danger of ''Packing"
There as Well as in High Court,
Is Claim.

True, the one man who can make
the transfer would be the Chief JUS
tice of the United States. And 1t is
going to be difficult to believe that any
man who may be appointed Chief
Justice would use this power improp-
erly. Perhaps this one change would
not have excited alarm. But some
other changes did, and the result
was to cause apprehension about all
the changes.
While transfers under the PreSi-
dents measure are to be made by the
Chief Justice, some critics of the meas
ure think the actual arranging of the
transfers would be made, not by the
Chief Justice in person. bat by a
wholly new functionary. set up for the
first time by the Presidents plan.
This is proctor" a kind of as
sistant to the Chief Justice. whose
function will be to act as the agent
of the Supreme Court in various mat
ters, including: TO investigate the
need of assigning district judges to
other courts and to make recommen-
, dations thereon to the Chief Justice"
1t may be that apprehension about
this new official is needless. Many
persons familiar with the Federal
courts think that something like
proctor would be useful Here again
the setting up of this new official prob
ably would not have excited appre-
| hension had it not been for other
changes which the Presidents plan
would make.
Transfers Easily Made.
The change that has most excited
concern is this: BY the Presidents
measure the judges who can be trans
ferred in future are described as
those hereafter appointed" Why
that? Why change the existing
method? Why can no judge hereto
fore on the bench be transferred
under the Presidents measure2
The Presidents measure gives him
power to appoint from 25 to so new
judges. These are the ones who are
hereafter to be moved about from
district to district. They are de-
scribed by Judge Knox as flying
squadron" And the report of the
New York City Bar Association de-
scribes them as "a mobile force Of
itinerant judges nominated by the
Chief Executive presently in Office
who are to be assigned to try particu-
lar cases in communities where they
are unknown
The Presidents plan contains an.
other change which, taken in con-
nection with the others, seems omf-
nous:
Under existing law, transfers Of
judges from one district to another
can be made for only two causes.
= One is accumulation or urgency Of
business; the other is disability or
necessary absence" of Judge.
But under the Presidents measure.
transfers can be made for any reason
whatever. The Presidents measure
reads: IF the public interest re-
quires" That phrase, public inter-
est" is sometimes used by-New. Dealers
4 to mean the interest Of the New Deal.
Shocking Situation.
, The fear of what might happen
/ under the Presidents court measure
was put in concrete form by Judge
, Knox. He says it might result in a
, shocking situation" In quoting Judge
g Knox here, I am obliged to condense
and paraphrase slightly. have tried
to do so without changing his mean
e ing:
Il merely call attention to what ia
IA, IF
} we have an administration that wishes
S to take full advantage of the authority
5 for which the President now suppli-
e Gates the Congress"
Judge Knox tells how he, as a dis
! trict judge, may be about to try a
r case in his own court-any case. 1t Is
i case which comes to him by the
< automatic working of the calendar
), The Judge, having finished one case
e turns to the next one on the calen.
r dar. Judge Knox calls it "a case
r between the United States and Johr
r Citizen
Il go to my court room. AS I pre-.
;. pare to step upon the bench and en-.
gage in the trial Of the case I an
{ confronted by man never saw be-
s fore. Introducing himself, he tell!
! me that he is a recently appointed
s judge from district in the North
). South, East or West, and that he ha.
o been specially assigned by the Chic
/: Justice to try the case of the Unitec
o States against John Citizen. .
e am, SO far as this particular case i
concerned, functuS offciO, and mus
, retire from the scene"
r Judge Knox observes that the cpl
| Continued on Pare D.3O