Show territorial coun cour TS A DEBATE IN tim THE U S SE rate arril arrin 73 7 1874 the tile next bill 0 nahe nabe calendar was tile the bill arno urno fa for r the tho ass assignment ament of judges in the T territories errit ories orles which was considered as in committee of the whole it provides that the legislature of each of the organized territories of the united states except tile the territory of utah shall it at each r regular gli session thereof make an assignment of tile tiie judges kohold to hoid hold the courts in the several districts in such territory but if the legislature of either of such territories shall have failed or shall hereafter fail fall to make such sueh an assignment the judges shall make an assign ment which shall continue in force until the close of the next regular ses session slon sion of the legislature the committee on the ohp judiciary reported an amend amendment ment which was to strike out all after tho the enacting clau ciau clause clauso seand and insert the following that the judges of tho supreme court of the respective territories or a majority of them ah shall shail lii ill at the 11 first finst regular ed term of said sur sui supreme reme court after the id passage and approval of this act and annually thereafter if expedient ent fix the boundaries of the respective districts and appoint tile times limes and places of li courts therein and dem deO designate gnato the judges respectively who shall shail hold the tile same provided that in case of a failure in any of the said territories so BO to fix the districts and make such sueh assignments the legislature of said sald territory shall fix said ditrichs districts and make such assignment to io continue till the judges or tor a majority mijo rity or of thern therm shall change the same 11 n mr son sor BOREMAN mIAN A As aa a far as I 1 am fl advised oil on the subject I 1 think the house billis bill Is to be p preferred to the amendment of the enate committee on the judiciary I 1 do not know of course what was before the 66 judiciary committee here hore that induced them to submit the amendment having been upon the committee on terri TorrI territories tories for some years I 1 have become belcome somewhat familiar with the difficulties that ariso in regard to judges and various other officers in the territories and it has been made mado manifest that thit tho tiro best beit of faling fueling does toes not always prevail among the tt judges it seems to td mo me that if this amendment suggested by the committee on the judiciary shall be adopted nd opted we shail shall put the judiciary of the tho various terri territories torl tori es into a position to be ar in a constant quarrel it will be seen that tho the I house louse bill authorizes the legislatures of the several territories except utah to assign the judges at each session of the legislature which is once jn n two years that is probably for the ithe purpose of taking a judge who has had a hard district for two nears wears eon con and giving him nn an easier tenth berth barth for a time and so on changing them therm around it is thought t just for fon fortham them to do so BO that ono one man may not have a hard bard berthall berth all ali the time now it occurs sometimes I 1 have lave been beon informed that two of the judges in a territory will com bin bine bino orand erand tand jand do injustice to tile the third sometimes under the organic law mis matter la 1 left to the ille governor of the territory in the first instance and as I 1 have examined the question thereafter the legislature of the territory has invariably been allowed to fix tile the boundaries of the and to assign the J judges and und I 1 think that is the better course As itt iti remarked I 1 do not know what moved the judiciary com mitte oto propose this amendment uy my experience upon tile the committee on territories would lead me to h support the original bill unless the cammi committee attee 0 on n the judiciary have acme ame good reason for pressing gressing this substitute As I 1 remarked bad feeling sometimes times exists and two I 1 of bf tie tle judges Ime may combine against the third they cannot very well influence the legislature to do that sort of injustice so as to banish one m man a n into a remote part of the territory and keep him there during his term the legislature it seem sto mels meis me ia the proper branch of the government to do this thing it is so in tile the states there thero where the I 1 constitutions do not fix the judicial districts the legislatures select eidet them and I 1 apprehend that according to the constitutions of most of the state states where the districts nare hare to be fixed thereafter i where there is to be a rearrange ment of Is it shall be done by the legislature I 1 cannot see why ina lna in a territory the legislature should not take taise juris diction and attend to this matter aswell as well weli asan a state and not leave it to the judges to be bb a subject of and of injustice and wrangle from tnie tinie to time as I 1 think U kiil be under unde rl this b bill ill lii if as II 11 ewul W lj 1 state f a t further cuk tIfer that my attention liaci been e e n called to this by some pf af the representatives from the territories not bot all ali of them but some dehorn of hem ald blid aid th they ey prefer the bill hill they think it ic is better or ok heMr mony of tile tiie territories better for the fair adf administration of 01 justice better for the tile equality of thi the labor jabol of th the tho judges ju in the territories they thoy have spoken to me and asked me to make these suggestions to the senate and to say that they prefer the original bill as as it came camo aroi from g the house to this substitute I 1 have thought it my ply duty being bellig a member of the on territories to make to tho senate enate enato for their consideration dir mr having reported ported le this bill from the judiciary com corm may bs tile reason that influenced us in in rna making abug this change As I 1 understand by the laws jaws of some of the territories the tha ass assignment ament of the judges is left to the the tho governor and then by the tile laws orsome of some of the territories lert left to the legislature and then by others left to the j u adges 91 1 themselves and not a little confusion and difficulty have thus originated gina ted and a question was made which was the tho prefer preferable abio abie way it was deemed advisable to settle it by some congressional action the house bill provided that in tho the first instance the assignment of the judges and the arrangement of districts should be left to the legislature aud aua if tho the legislature failed to act then the judges act upon upon the matterand matter and dispose dispo o of the districts and antl tho the assignment of judges the qu before the committee was whether it were better that the judges should dispose of this matter inthe in the ll 11 dirst first instance and if they failed to make the arrangement leave leavo it then to the legislature or whet lier the legislature should first dp do it and if the legislature failed then submit it to tile the judges and aud in looked looking the whole ground over anxious to have as much harmony and find quiet and as little difficulty in the territories as possible touching this matter of judicial districts the committee concluded tbt that it were better to leave it to adges in inthe first instance this thi is as a rule for all the territories while it maybe that in some of the territories the legislature could arrange it better and with but little if any difficulty it has been beeg found that in some of them there lias has been difficulty and great injustice ilono done tp to the judges in that r respect s L c t in viey diey of the nit hit dc acor corps that abt obtains ains hins amo among I 1 the tho lle ile judges that are out in the terri torri territories we we felt tb that at thero would woud be but little if any trouble on this gulij subject j act and there would scarcely cely be an in ff istance where any two of n a territory ry would seek to combine against the third or where there would ue bo any elbrt to arrange tile tiie district or make assignments so as to do injustice to any member of the court it will be seen that under this substitute tho the three judges can call arrange it so that they can change the holding of the courts by alternating it is not uncommon in the territories that some portion of the territory is more more desirable to reside in more wore more desirable for holding cota coka court than other portions portion and it lt it were left to the legislature it was presented and nud made known to us that frequently a a design designing 1 ng judge might by importunity and by a system oi of log rollin I 1 may u bic e such an expression in connect connection cn with judges perhaps get him c if assigned to the best portion of the tin country while the tile others would woula have to go to those that are less desirable si it wa was way bell beli believed eved that if this thi matter was lat left to ehe the judges in the first instance they would be more likely to arran arrange go it in such suell a way way atwould as would be acceptable b to the judges themselves and aud andrest best for the administration of justice justlee the senator from west virginia virgl Virgi nih has suggested that ifie tile delegates from the territories prefer tile the other arrangement I 1 think thin thinkie kit it but bub due to say that since this bill was pi pie pared ared they have llave rb fio suggested to me iut gut but I 1 think that it is ia upon grounds that if they were investigated and the whole matter seen as it really is they would not be very tenacious about some of them pa perhaps are re a good deal so but others not S so much so there has been not a little trouble in some of the territories touching this very question and it has beull brought to our attention that very great injustice has apen done to judges by assigning them to a port portion iori lorl or of a territory ilat that was wa qulie quite uh undesirable desirable sending send er them hundred and of miles anti antl seem angly for tilo tile very purpose d of doing injustice to an individual judge judged and benefiting the other members of the court between judges themselves we have no thought that this would occur wo we believe the judges themselves will always arrange it so as that they will be reasonably satisfied on the subject while if you refer the matter matten to the legislature you will nind filid that this trouble will continue and til that it we shall shail be called upon at tile the next session of congress or if not then therl soon thereafter to reexamine examine re thi this s whole matter the amendment as it is i prepared I 1 may say was hi accordance with wl what we understood ill ekl stood to be the wishes wish osor of the several terri torri tones at the time it w was prepared the committee proposed this amendment after examining the whole subject au and ana d I 1 beli bell believe belleve eive elve were wore unanimous in ill making the recommendation dionas as it now stands mr nir san SAr sargent gent arNT in mator local imal lutherr in their character the those who are directly and who are arc consequently well weli informed with reference to the facts are most valuable to determine what our cour sp should be the delegates from the territories are not judges and aud they thes agrenot are not members of the tile le legislature 9 I slature they ca can n have no motive motives except those which make to the best interest of their people they are unanimous upon this proposition iha rhaye e talked with most of them and abid I 1 understand from those thae with w whom baill I 1 have conversed that they all have haye one opinion I 1 havo billave talked with the delegates from colorado Colom do from vvs wyoming i from arl Ari arizona zona and ana in 0 fib from in montana and they all say that it is infinitely preferable that the legislature shall create the districts mark their thene boundaries and fix the places where whore courts shall be held and they further farther say bay that the judges themselves prefer that tim til should bo be done the territories of course ha havo have vo v very ery large areas sometimes the different parts of the territories are separated by ranges of mountains oil on each side of a range of mountains there may bo be comparatively unimportant communities which need that courts should bo be held locally while it ft is possible that on one side tather rather than on the tiie other there maybe may be places morp more pleas pleasant tnt for the judges to select an ai place of residence the temptation i continually before them if they have the disposal of the matter to crowd to the centre of the terri tory or some place where it is fi more plea piea pleasant sarit for them to live llvy than t ti go across the mountains or go to the more remote parts or of the terni terri tory the who result is hl that ulton who have business betor before hell heil courts court sale sato ate aie put to enormous eapen for tho travel of witnesses to attend the coures courts at long iong dist distances anees fron from their h r i I 1 r T i 1 small scale a denial of justice I 1 might almost say to a minor miuor extent it is a violation of that principle which is recognized in the fundamental law that the people shall not noo be called to places remote from their homes in order to secure justice As my friend from delaware says they shall shail have havo justice justlee brought to their doors the legislature can have no motive in a matter of this kind except to so BO arrange the tile districts as F shall all nil be for the greatest convenience of thein their people I 1 do not believe in wholesale char charges against territorial legislatures or a against dinst congress ress and I 1 respect t the tho b purity of th the majority of the body I 1 thirla that with public reasons to act upon the they will act upon public rea reasons or to put it in the hands of those who are directly interested whose ease is concerned who may be disposed to locate themselves i where it is easier ealer to get through tile tiie draw the salary and have the most ease easo and be bei at the least trouble in performing their duties seems to me to be reposing this power in the wrong hands the legislature which we create and authorize to make counties to designate county seats to perform all the tiie local legislation of the territories ri tories ought to bs be the sanest farest qu guardian ardian ardlan for fon interests of this kind hind the senator from iowa says that it is thought sometimes that some judges are assigned to inconvenient districts and und kept there and some are not under which system does this take place all three systems prevail the judges in some of the tile territories assign each other does the difficulty arise where they make mahe the a I assignment in Ari arl arizona zona zoDa one or of the territories where the legislature regulates this are satisfied the judges are satisfied and tile the people are satisfied with the manner ill in which it is ig done I 1 do not think the complaint of unjust ce to any judges comes froin from either of those territories where the matter is fixed by the legislative body I 1 think that the wish that the eli zvi opinion i on of the delegates ought to have 1 great weight it had bad weight with the house of representative z and they sent us the original bill now jow row without any specific or good reason it seems to me being given I 1 hayo bayo answered the reasons given by thee the thoe senator from iowa wo we propose to change chango it and to put this tills question ill in i the tho le hand bands of tilea the judges alone lur jur has tile the senator heard of any case where justice justlee was not brought home to the tiie |