A Dignified Justice

It is a well known fact to those conversant with the administration of justice, that justice court practice in civil matters is not what it ought to be. And this is largely the fault of the system rather than of the justices. Under the present system it is next to impossible to secure a competent jury. No business man will consent to sit upon a justice court jury for $1 a day and few justices care to take the step necessary to compel their attendance. As a consequence justice court juries are almost invariably drawn from a class of men whose verdict does not carry the weight of conscientious decision and litigants are rarely satisfied with the outcome of a justice court trial. Justice court trials have therefore been, in many instances, merely an expensive preliminary for getting the small cases into the county circuit court.

It is believed by most of the attorneys of this city that justice court practice can be so reformed in this city that cases within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace can be satisfactorily determined without appeal to the circuit court.

With this end in view the city attorney has prepared the outlines of a bill amending the charter of this city with respect to justice courts which it is believed will purify the atmosphere of the justice court room and raise the dignity and the efficiency of that court.

The salient features of the proposed law are as follows: To limit the number of justices in the city to one, who shall be an attorney in good standing and whose term shall be the same as now provided by law, viz : four years. The object of this is to create an office with a sufficient income to induce competent men to accept it. This justice shall hold a term for jury trials of civil cases on the first Monday in each mouth. The jury for those terms is to be provided as follows: The supervisor of each ward in the city shall on the first Monday in July of each year return a list of 40 freeholders of his ward who are qualified to sit as jurors in courts of record to the city clerk. These names are to be kept by the clerk in separate envelopes for each ward. On the Wednesday preceding the first Monday in each month the city clerk, justice of the peace and chief of police shall draw from each package two names and the 14 names thus drawn shall constitute the jury for the following Monday and shall be summoned and serve that day and each day following until discharged for the term and shall receive as compensation for their service $2 per day, to be paid by the city treasurer on the order of the justice and the city clerk.

When issue is joined in a civil case and the parties thereto shall demand a jury they shall deposit with the justice a fee of $6 or the jury shall be considered waived. When a jury is demanded the case shall stand for hearing on the first Monday in the following month. On that day any party having demanded a jury shall be privileged to waive it and receive his deposit back. All jury fees are to be paid to the city treasurer by the justice of the peace. The panel for this jury is to be drawn in the same manner as that employed in drawing jurors for the circuit court.

It will be seen that this proposed bill provides: 1. A competent man for the office of justice. 2. A salary which will insure a competent man accepting the position. 3. A regular and qualified jury. 4. Stated days in each month on which jury trials will be heard.

It is believed by the lawyers that this will do away with the necessity of going to the circuit court with cases which are now within the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace and that it will raise the dignity of the justice court.