Evening star., 1939-10-30

Are the judges more interested
than they are in keeping the cost
Of justice within the ability to pay
of those who receive it?
According to report of a COM
mittee of the Washington Housing
Association, the judges interest
seems to lie in the courts financial
record.
The committee met with the
judges last June to request a sub
stantial reduction in the landlord
and tenant fees that have provided
the court with a needless profit. The
judges. however. would agree only
to a 15-cent reduction in the 81
filing fee, which went into effect
July l.
The committee then reported: "At
our meeting with the judges. an
argument was advanced that these
fees ought not to be reduced to any
great extent. because it was shown
that the large number of cases
furnish very substantial part of
the income of Municipal Court, ana
have in the past enabled the court
to stay in the black and that it was
desirable to maintain this record
Backs Underprivileged.
Your committee feels, however
that this is not and should not be a
primary consideration We feel that
it is desirable that the courts should
be self-supporting as nearly as pos
sible. but that when a situation
arises where it becomes necessary
to weigh the service of a court to
underprivileged groups. as against a
mere successful financial record,
certainly the interests of under
privileged litigants should control" +"
Surveys by the Washington Hous-
ing Association indicate that an
overwhelming portion of the tenants
threatened in landlord and tenant
with loss of their homes live on the
borderline of destitution
A typical case taken through the
mill of landlord and tenant will
serve to illustrate how, in the aggre-
gate, tenants have paid court fees
that have provided Municipal Court
with profit of more than a quarter
of million dollars in the past II
years. BY profit is meant receipts
over expenditures. Every time the
court or United States marshals
Office handles paper fee is
charged.
Let the tenant be called Mr..
Jones. He has a wife and three
children. When he took possession
of the home he rents, located in
an alley of one of Washingtons
slum districts. he signed with the
landlord what is known as rental
agreement" This is not lease for
a specified period of time but just
document in which both parties
agree to certain terms of occupancy
In this paper, Mr.. Jones agreed
to pay the rent in advance on a
monthly basis and also waived his
right to 80 days notice to quit
the property Congress has pro-
vided that 30 days must elapse
before tenant, renting from month
to month. can be served with a notice
to quit. But the tenant has right
to waive this and the landlord
almost always requires this action.
Misfortunes Arise.
So. Mr.. Jones has been paying
his rent in advance regularly on the
first of the month. Then, sud-
denly, his wife gets sick.
Comes the first of the month and
Mr.. Jones hasn't enough money for
the rent. The landlord has right
to sue for possession of the house
on the second day of the month If
he chooses because Mr.. Jones has
waived his right to a 80 days
notice. But, in this case, Mr.. Jones
puts up a good alibi and the land
lord, being a kind-hearted man,
allows him week, maybe even two
weeks-until the 18th and another
pay day.
- But Mr.. Jones books are now
definitely out of balance. other
unexpected expenses arise. His wife
wants new dress or his children
need more nourishment and he
contracts for a quart of milk day
Or he spends the money for liquor
or CANDLES it away. In any case
the 18th of the month comes along
and he can't pay the rent.
The first of the month sees Mr..
Jones in no better shape. And the
landlord decides to sue for posses
sion Of the property because the
rent has not been paid. So the
landlord goes to Municipal Court
and files his suit. To the court the
landlord pays IS cents as a filing
fee" to the United States mar
shals ONCE he pays so cents for
delivery Of the summons to Mr..