Evening star., 1938-12-07
Justice Laws 10 Go
To Detroit, Boston
1o5tudyProtedure
Trip Based on Prospect
Of Adopting Pre-TrioI
Technique Here

V~S ssSsS
Looking to the possibility Of adopt
ing pre-trial procedure more extern
sively here. under the new Supreme
Courts Rules for Civil Procedure,
District Court, it was learned today,
has delegated Justice Bolitha j.
Laws to 60 next week to Detroit,
Mich, and Boston, Mass, to make
y first hand study of the situation
there.
The court has designated Justice
Daniel w. ODonoghue, and Justice
Oscar r. Luring, and Justice Laws
as a special committee to inquire
Into the pre-trial procedure The
civil docket here is now some 20
months in arrears.
In keeping with the District
Courts action, a group of promi-
nent attorneys, representative of the
Bar Association of the District of
Columbia, is meeting this afternoon
to consider the special points that
the District Court Committee should
consider in conjunction with the
pre-trlal procedure, so that Justice
Laws may be informed as to the
wishes Of the bench and bar here.
Meeting In Woodward Building.
The lawyers meeting will be held
at the office of Attorney Lawrence
Koenigsberger in the Woodward
Building. He was one of the prom
tnent attorneys here that sat on the
advisory committee which drew up
the draft OF rules of civil procedure
Tor District Court here.
Invited to participate in the law
yers' gathering are: Godfrey L. Mum
ter, president of the Bar Associa-
ton of the District of Columbia:
Wilbur L. Gray. the associations
secretary; George P. Hoover, Charles
". Arth, H. Mason WEIGH, Frank F.
Nesblt, Edmund L. Jones, Alvin L.
NeWmyer, H. Winship Wheatley,
Who was chairman of the District
Court Committee on drafting new
sules for vicil procedure; Henry I.
Quinn and Percy H. Marshall.
These lawyers will discuss the
Whole question of trial proceed
ure in District Court here, and draw
up a list of suggestions which JUS
tice Laws will take with him to De-
troit and Boston. 1t is considered
likely that Mr.. Koenigsberger will
accompany Justice Laws to Detroit
. District Court has made plans, it
5 understood, to have Justice Laws
actually sit in on cases with Judge
Joseph A. Moynihan of the Circuit
Court for the Third Judicial Circuit
Of Michigan. at Detroit Likewise,
The local jurist is expected to par
tfcipate actively in the pre-trial pro-
cedure in the court of Justice A. E.
Pinanski of the Superior Court of
Massachusetts,, at Boston.
Relieves Connected Dockets.
. Los Angeles, Detroit and Boston
have had conspicuous success In the
pre-trial procedure in relieving the
Congestion in their court dockets.
Justice Laws will not go to Los
Angeles, however, but will thorough
" study the pre-trial processes in
Detroit and Boston with a view to
applying the lessons learned there
to the tagging court calendar here.
Upon his return to Washington,
Justice Laws, who expects to leave
the National Capital Sunday night,
and spend around three days in
Detroit, and then 60 to Boston, will
report his tions to JUS
tices ODonoghue and Luhring, and
later to the entire District Court.
With Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat
presiding, District Court, several
days ago, authorized the special COM
mittee and the trip of Justice Laws.
:, Mr.. Nestit, at the October meet
Ing of the Bar Association here,
presented a resolution to publish
the pre-trial procedure setup in
Its Journal. Attorney Joseph A.
Burkhart sponsored resolution
to have the association wait until
after Justice Luhring delivered his
lecture on pre-trial procedure before
the association, which the jurist
did on November IT. As matters
now stand, the Bar Association of
the District of Columbia has taken
no oficial action with reference to
pre-trial procedure, as the meeting
held on Saturday night was in the
nature of testimonial dinner to
the new president of the American
Bar Association, Frank Hogan.
+. Justice Laws has conducted a
pre-trial roundtable conference him.
self, in conjunction with the case
revolving around the estate of Ed
ward B. Mclean, former Washing
ton Post publisher, now a mental
patient in a Baltimore (MdD hos
pital. The purist is expected to
hand down a decision in this case
shortly. Justice Luhring, in open
court. recently held pre-trial pro-
cedure, in q case in which Commits
sioner of Indian Affairs John Collier
has been sued for libel.