Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-01-04 | Page 6 | Justice Pratt's Appointment

Justic Pratt'i Appointment IN THE PRIMARIES last fall Judge Roger I. McDonough of the Third district court and Judge E. E. Pratt of the Second district court War contender for th Democratic nomination as candidate for election to the supreme court. Judge McDonough won the contest handsomely and was aworn in a a supreme court Justice Tuesday. Sworn in at the same time wa Justice Z. E. Pratt, appointed by Governor Henry H. Blood to fill the unexpired term of former Justice) Jus-tice) Ephraun Hanson, Republican, recently resigned. re-signed. Justice Pratt Is a respected and distinguished gnember of the Utah bar and Judiciary. He waa appointed a Judge of the Second district by the lata Governor George H. Dern In 1929 to fill a vacancy. Ha wag elected in 1933 and 1934 to aerve two four-year term. He attended Salt Lake City and Pgden schools and th University of Utah, then Stanford university, which graduated him In 1918. H was in the private practice of law in Ogden from that year, except for hi war service in 1917-1920, until hi appointment to tha district bench. He la a member of th Utah State bar, an inactive member of tha California Califor-nia bar, member of tha American Bar aaaocia-' aaaocia-' tion, a former secretary of tha Utah District , Judge' association and noW it vice president Ha ha taken a prominent part In public affair . in tha atat and m Weber county. Ha take character, char-acter, training and experience to the state high st court. Not in th least to tha disparagement of Jus-tica Jus-tica Pratt, lor whom wa entertain tha highest respect there have been what wa believe were Important consideration turning dver in tha mind of many thoughtful citizen. In and out ef tha legal profession, since the reaignation of Justice Hanson. Foremoit among theaa ha been tha matter of tha political affiliation of nu-tneroua nu-tneroua candidate for tha vacant post. Thla wax, wa believe, lea out of Interest In politic per se than In moving in tha direction of nonpartisan Judiciary. Under the present law, judgea ar elected on party ticket. Th fata had decreed, however, by virtu of election elec-tion prior to last November' test at the polls, that on th high bench tat three Democrat and . two Republican. ' Th xpiring Urm of Chief Justice William H. Folland, a Republican, and th resignation of Justice Hanson left Republican without represent rep-resent tion in th court Th election of Justice McDonough and tha appointment of Justice Pratt with tha three other Justice, bring into existence a eolid Bourbon banc. Thi is moving 'definitely away from tha notion of a nonparti- gan Judiciary. ...... Thar were very many other consideration brought forward and ther waa much preaaura upon the governor in tha interest of varlou candidate. A leu even-tempered and deliberate executive would have raftered in the throe of confusion. Under th law, ha U under no com- Jiulaion to appoint a auccessor of the same po-itical po-itical faith aa tha predecessor. There ia no unanimity, vn among lawyer and Judge, in tha matter of a nonpartisan Judiciary, though th Idea eem to be gaining ground. The laity, w feel moat certain, hold to tha opinion except possibly in th heat of a political campaignthat cam-paignthat Judge should be upright, honest nd fit Justice Pratt measures up to these criteria. cri-teria. W feel, then, that Governor Blood ha Ud hi beat Judgment after much thought in meeting hig responsibilities. Those preponderantly preponder-antly politically minded do not miss th point that tha appointee ha a gtrong Democratic following, fol-lowing, that geography wss In hi favor ther having been no Justice from th northern portion por-tion of th gtate and that th appointment may be calculated to draw together discordant ele- . menta within the Democratic party.