Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 01.pdf/485

440 purpose of verifying the citation or quotation, or further examining the case, was liable to pick up the wrong volume and waste time in that way, unless he happened to be so familiar with the work as to have in his mind a recollection of the precise number of pages in each volume. Many authors and judges still keep up this wretched practice, and cite such standard works as "Greenleaf on Evidence," and other works which are in several volumes, without stating in what volume the citation is found. We knew of one reporter who, in citing the Revised Statutes of his State, habitually cut out the number of the volume, although the judge had put it in his opinion,—imagining that in some way by doing this he improved the quality of his reportorial work. Instead of doing this he made a needless addition to the time which is frequently consumed by the searcher, who has to refer to the particular statute, and who is liable to pick up the wrong volume.

The usefulness of a volume of reports is very much circumscribed if it have a poor index. The index is the key which unlocks the whole treasure-house. Unless it is skilfully made, much that is contained in the volume will be useless, because the practitioner will not be able to find it, in the time at his disposal for making the search. The time will come when indexing will be a distinct profession. Very much can be said upon the subject of legal classification, and it is believed that our ideas upon this topic are still in their infancy. But this can be said upon the subject of law indexing, that no one is competent to make a law index who has not some general idea of the different titles of the law and their classifications into sub-titles, secondary sub-titles, and so on down. The classifications employed in law indexing are to a great extent arbitrary. It frequently happens that, instead of a single grouping, the subject is split into several groupings, presented as independent titles. This may especially be said of such subjects as Contracts, Evidence, Equity. My judgment is that the best indexing requires the selection of the lowest practicable subdivision for main titles of the index. Thus, I would not put "Experts" under "Evidence," or "Witnesses" under "Evidence," nor would I put "Experts" under "Witnesses." Those matters which relate to the conduct of the trial, and which cannot be more conveniently put under a distinctive subdivision, ought to be indexed under the head of "Trial." But where it is possible to group such matters under a smaller subdivision, it ought to be done. Thus, there is a great deal of matter in the judicial reports relating to the limits to be allowed in the cross-examination of witnesses. Instead of putting this under "Witnesses," it ought to be put under "Cross-examination." I venture the opinion that the indexes and digests furnished for the official reports of the English Courts are in this respect good models, although they have been greatly criticised by the law journals of that country with which they are necessarily in a state of rivalry. I have never failed to find anything for which I was searching in those indexes, and have generally found the object of my search easily and quickly.

Most of the indexes of the reports are made with a paste-pot and scissors. The reporter receives an extra proof, and from this he cuts out the matter in his headnotes, and, pasting it under such titles as come into his head at the time as the most suggestive, he builds up what he calls an index of principal matters decided. In many, perhaps it may fairly be said in most cases, no system of legal classification has been stated beforehand by the maker of the index. A frequent result is that the same matters, instead of being grouped in one place in the index, are scattered under two or three different titles. Thus, the searcher will often discover that matters relating to the conveyances of real estate are sometimes grouped in the index under "Contracts," and that similar matters are frequently grouped under "Conveyances," and again under "Vendor and Vendee." A further search will discover that under "Vendor and Vendee" are