Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 25.pdf/518

 The Editor's Bag "And now," said the prosecuting officer, in a tone of cool sarcasm, "you will further enlighten us, I trust. How comes it that you are so cock-sure as to the exact distance?" "Because I carefully measured it," said the witness. "I felt pretty certain that some lawyer would ask me about it sooner or later." PRINTING SUPREME COURT DECISIONS (From Case and Comment) ALL printed copies of United States Supreme Court decisions have been prepared in the same little printing shop for the last seventyfive years. In all that time, so far as anybody knows, there has not been one "leak." And yet the possession of an important decision a day or so in advance might enable one to make a fortune in stock speculation. The original proprietor of the printing shop did the work himself, taking no chances on the secret getting out through an employee. At his death, the foreman of the shop conducted the establishment for the estate and continued to get the Supreme Court work. Another man — only the third manager in seventy-five years — is now running the plant. The printing is divided among several employees in such a way that no one has enough of the decision to make any sense out of it. And the final paragraph — the part where the court puts in the "cracker," saying whether the case is reversed or affirmed —

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is always set up by the manager of the shop him self. Copies of the decision are turned over to the clerk of the Supreme Court, to be handed to the news associations as soon as the Justice starts to read it from the bench. But for some reason, much to the vexation of the newspaper men, there are never enough copies to go around. Sometimes there is only one copy given out, and the news association favored with that one copy has a brief lead over i ts rivals in getting the report on the wire. DISPUTED WILLS (From the New Orleans Picayune) T~ISPUTED wills are a prolific source of litigation and cases involving them consume a considerable amount of time in the courts. To remedy this evil it has been proposed that a stat ute be passed providing that a testator may, if he pleases, file his will in court during his life and give due notice of the fact to persons affected, and that if any one wishes to question the validity of the will he must appear within a certain time or forever be barred. If, under this plan, a con testant appeared, he could be required to prove his interest and then be permitted to inspect the will. If he still desired to contest it he could be required to raise the issues while the testator is yet alive to demonstrate capacity and to explain his action. Any measure which will help the testator to carry out his wishes and which will prevent disagreeable litigation should be encouraged.

The Editor will be glad to receive for this department anything likely to entertain the readers of the Green Bag in the way of legal antiquities, facetice, and anecdotes.

USELESS BUT ENTERTAINING Little Girl. — "Why did your mama spank you?" Child. — "Because she is too untutored and ignorant to devise a more modern reformatory method of punishment." — Life. Willie. — "Paw, what is a jury?" Paw. — "A body of men organized to find out who has the best lawyer, my son." — Cincinnati Inquirer.

"Is he rich enough to keep an automobile and a yacht?" "Yes, he is even richer than that. He keeps a lawyer." — Chicago Record- Herald. "Rastus, what's a alibi?" "Dat's provin' dat yoh was at a prayermeetin' whar yoh wasn't in order to show dat yoh wasn't at de crap game whar yoh was." —Life.