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The Green Bag

have been at work in lowering the stand ards of the courts. Among these in

different judges; a corrected procedure, having adequate machinery for reaching

ﬂuences are "the absence of a ﬁxed

results at the earliest practicable moment, the abolition of unnecessary technicali

standard in the selection of the judici

ary; the overturning of ancient legal concepts with only a tardy substitution of newer and clearer modes of thinking; and the sudden increase in the mass of lit

igation-—co-operating with the natural frailties of human nature, carelessness, prejudice, and even corruption."

The two authors sent out 350 circu lars asking for replies to certain ques

ties and reﬁnements, the total abolition

of legislative interference with procedure and the entire separation of the judicial from the legislative power, with the absolute power in the judiciary to regu late procedure." After summarizing some of the replies the authors continue:—

scientists, commissioners on uniform state laws, and other lawyers whose

“We chose no malcontents or rabid reformers or fanatics or recognized agitators, but conﬁned ourselves to prominent and leading lawyers, to their supposedly intelligent and hard working juniors, to studious political scientists.

opinion would be likely to be unbiassed. Replies were received from a majority

and to commissioners on uniform state laws, and this is what we ﬁnd by them

of the states, and though only about 16 per cent of the recipients answered, almost all the replies came from law yers in active practice and of high stand

spirit of reform.” Positive dissatisfaction with the admin

charged against present members 0i the judiciary :— “Intellectual and other incapacity; bad personal habits; improper politi cal activity; proneness to play politics; absence of a sense of obligation to their oﬂice, to the legal profession, to the public; that the judges conﬁne themselves too closely by legal techni calities; that they hold cases too long; that they are lazy; that they are domi

istration of the law in nineteen states was

nated by local inﬂuence; that they are

tions with regard to conditions in the several states. The inquiries were ad

dressed to leaders of the bar, political

ing, some being of national reputation. "Their judgments bear the mark of care ful and conservative statement and not one of them seems to be the expression of a radical, or even of an aggressive,

expressed.

In the case of ﬁve other

lacking in legal ability, or are of less than average ability; that they are un

states, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, New York and South Carolina, there

duly active for re-election; that they

appeared to be a diﬁerence of opinion.

permit tally unﬁt; delay; that thatthey theyare are inﬂuenced temperamen' by

Satisfaction with conditions in Arkansas, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and West Virginia was expressed. Many interesting replies came from correspondents. Many suggestions for re form, for example,“came from New York,

such as a differentiation of the work of the courts (as is done already in New York County) by the institution of neg ligence calendars, commercial calendars and other calendars, presided over by

the judges in review of whose decisions they sit; that they misuse their patron age; that they are of mediocre or inferior

quality; that they are guilty of con duct worthy of criticism; that they are

grossly unﬁt (one complaint of unﬁtness because of habitual drunkenness was

made); that their individual judicial conduct has been the subject of scandal; that they are subject to corrupt inﬂuence;