Evening star., 1938-11-22
Jackson Halls Court
Rules Reform as
Insuring Justice
Radio Forum Speoke-
ExpIoins How Change
Benefits Citizens

Solicitor General Robert H. Jack
son discussed the subject, "The Law
Catches Up With the Times" last
night on the National Radio Forum,
arranged by The Star and broadcast
over Nationwide network Of the
National Broadcasting Co. The text
Of his address follows:
Over seven centuries ago, King
John at Runnymede set his unwil-
ling hand to the Great Charter
of English Liberty. Among other
things promised this-"to no one will
we sell, to no one will we deny or
delay right or justice"
King John probably never meant
1t and soon repudiated it, but he
had set forth the ideal toward which
English-speaking people are ever
striving-that justice shall be swift
and simple and reasonable in cost.
From the year 1915 to the admins
tration of Franklin D. Roosevelt is q
long time-and the ideal has not
yet been achieved But when he
was Governor of New York, Mr..
Roosevelt showed a lively interest in
King Johns unfulhlled promise. He
obtained commission to investigate
the administration of justice in that
State. The result was the creation
OF a permanent law revision COM
mission to keep the law up-to-date
and a judicial council to supervise
the courts and keep them up with
their work.
The President brought to Wash
ington the same zeal for simple legal
procedure and for speedy justice that
he had demonstrated in his home
State, and in spite of the more dra-
matte and immediate problems that
faced him, he has steadily urged the
need of law reform.
Cummings an Advocate.
The shaping and carrying out OF
such reform he placed in the hands
of his Attorney General, Homer
Cummings. In private life Mr..
Cummings had advocated a more
swift and simple procedure for the
courts. A long and practical expe-
rience enabled him to know what
was practical and workable by way
of remedy, as we'll as to locate the
evils. This gave congressional lead
ers confidence in his advice.
Many important reforms have
come about in the last five years in
which Attorney General Cummings
was the moving spirit. In addition
to an extended attack on the crime
problem, the success of which has
been universally acclaimed, he went
to the front for the measure which
gives the Government the right to
intervene in litigation between pri-
vate parties whenever it involved
the constitutionality of Federal stat
utes, so that the Government can
always be heard to defend when
law of Congress is under attack.
There was also the measure which
prevented any single Federal judge
from granting an injunction which
would nullify an act of Congress-
That measure requires that three
judges sit in such a case, and per-
mits direct appeal to the Supreme
Court from their decision. The first
juvenile delinquency act for the Fed
eral system has just been passed.
It takes those of tender years out
of the usual criminal procedure.
But the chief reform is the SIM
plification of the court procedure
for hearing civil cases-cases such
as those in which any OF you may
at any time become involved. What
was wrong with our Federal system
of legal procedure?
Followed 48 Systems.
The first diff1culty was that it was
not a system. There were 48 sys-
TENS. Each Federal court tried to
function by using the practice Of the
State in which it was sitting. This
meant that In some States the Fed
eral courts were following some such
common law practice as we inherited
from Great Britain. That had be-
come so involved in fiction and tech
nicanty that even the lawyers could
not understand it. In other States
the Federal courts were conforming,
more or less, to legislation which
reduced practice to code, or
practice act. Some of them were
very complicated, all were rigid and
highly technical. But even this pro-
duced confusion, for the Federal
courts were required to conform to
the practice of the State las near
as may be-" And how near that
would be depended on the notions
of the judge. The Federal courts,
therefore, almost conformed to al
most all kinds of practice.
The result was that the Federal
courts we're all tangled up in their
own red tape That is common
failing of courts. But there was
confusion and conflict in Federal
courts of a rather exceptional kind.