Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 02.pdf/590

 The Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

George A. Wilbur. Judge Wilbur was born in 1832, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. Though com ing to the bar late, he did not permit his desire to begin his professional career to gain the mastery over his patriotism. He enlisted in 1862, was promoted to the rank of captain, and after having seen much hard service in the field, was mustered out at the end of the war. From 1865 till 1872 he was presiding justice of the Woonsocket court of magistrates. From 1872 till 1885 he was Trial Justice of the Justice Court of Woonsocket. He was for five years State Senator, and during a portion of that time chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Upon the resignation of Judge Carpenter, in 1885, Judge Wilbur was elected an Associate Justice. By assign ment of the court he holds the Court of Common Pleas, his time being largely taken in the trial of the criminal docket. The names of many of the judges of the Supreme Court appear infrequently in the reports. The reason of this is apparent. The chief judicial service performed by some of them has been that of presiding at the trial of cases at nisi prius. They served their generation faithfully, and rendered val uable service to the State; but the results of their labors are unrecorded, and exist only in the memory of men. The method of electing the judges by the

543

General Assembly has worked well in the main, and it is doubtful if either election by the people or appointment by the Gov ernor would have given the State judges of higher ability. The legislators have not always made their selection of judges from the political party having a majority. Judge Bradley and George H. Brown were elected chief-justices by their political opponents. The latter, however, declined to accept the office. Personal rather than political con siderations have sometimes influenced the legislators, and it has been the subject of adverse criticism that the General As sembly has with great frequency raised its own members to the Supreme Court bench. The judicial system of Rhode Island is a logical development from the political and social organization of the State. The land of historic individuality, and the most demo cratic of the American colonies, the people have ever held fast to the idea that they are the safest repository of all the powers of government, and that frequent elections are the best means of keeping their officers in touch with public sentiment, and the only safeguard against official encroachment upon popular rights. In obedience to this idea, the judges were elected annually for nearly two hundred years, and under the Consti tution the people still retain the power of removing the judges by the vote of their representatives in the General Assembly.