Evening star., 1946-09-22
Two FuII-Time
Courts 10 Speed
Tenant Cases
Appeals Judges to
Help Cut Backlog
During October
By Horriet Griffiths.

by noFriet SrifflfhS.
Recognizing an acute emergency
in Municipal Court, judges of the
Municipal Court of Appeals will sit
in the lower court next month to
help cut down a backlog of almost
900 civil jury cases, more than 200
OF them landlord-tenant matters.
A plan for concerted action, an
nounced yesterday. provides for two
additional full-time jury courts
during October to handle landlord
tenant trials exclusively.
Chief Judge Nathan Cayton of
the appeals court, acting on author
ity vested in him by the District
Code to assign judges to Municipal
Court when 1t is 'in the public in
terest to do So" designated Associ-
ate Judge Brice Clagett to handle
one of the auxiliary jury courts.
Cayton and Hood to Alternate.
In order to release a Judge of
Municipal Court to conduct the
other emergency jury court, Judge
Cayton and Associate Judge Andrew
M. Hood will alternate in presiding
over the small claims and concilia-
ton branch of Municipal Court.
The move, decided upon after a
conference by judges of both courts,
should put landlord-tenant cases on
a current basis. and allow the nearly
600 other pending jury trials to be
reached more speedily, Judge Cay
ton announced.
A simultaneous statement by
Chief Judge George P. Barse of
Municipal Court stressed the courts
need for three additional judges.
and expressed hope they would be
provided by the next session of
Congress.
Judge Barse pointed out that the
number of demands for jury trials
in the civil division during the fiscal
year 1945-1946 jumped 81 per cent
over the total for the previous year
from 761 to 1.403. In the previous
fiscal year they had increased SIS
per cent over the year before, from
483 to 761.
327 New Demands.
During last July and August
there were 327 new demands for
jury trials, Judge Barse reported,
bringing the total pending cases to
871 on September l.
The jurist expressed appreciation
on behalf of the Municipal Court
judges for the assistance being rem
dered by the appellate court judges.
Judge Cayton said it was brought
out at the conference of the judges
that the pending landlord tenant
cases could not be reached for jury
trial for several months under ex-
listing conditions.
The landlord-tenant court oper-
ates five days week, but jury trials
in that category are heard only one
day week. now. George l.. Hart,
jr., at a recent District Bar Asso-
citation meeting, called for a speed
ing up of procedure in the court to
eliminate such litigation as that
in which a bona fide purchaser of
property was prevented from taking
occupancy for more than a year
because an attorney had too many
cases backed up.
Complica tions Possible.
The new program, Judge Cayton
said, will be further expedited by
utilization of the technieues of
conciliation ito the fullest possible
extent" in order to work out amic-
able settlements lin as many in
stances as possible.
Judge Cayton said the move was
felt justified as temporary expe-
dent despite possible complications
which might arise with appellate
judges trying cases subject to appeal
before their court. When a decis-
ion of an appellate judge acting as
trial judge is appealed, he ex-
planned, the judge automatically is
disqualified to sit on the appeal,
and it often becomes necessary to
call up one of the trial judges to
sit in the review.
Judge Cayton assigned himself
to conduct the small claims court
during the first half of October and
Judge Hood to sit the second half,
he said, to leave one of them free to
carry on the daily work of the ap-
peals court. That particular court
was chosen because of the small
number of appeals reasonably to be
expected from that branch, he said.
The jurist emphasized that the
appeals court would not suspend its
operation, but would conduct hear
ines on its October calender and try
| to keep the work current.