The Green Bag '

566

It is interesting to note in this connec tion that public announcement is made

that the Chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States has appointed

that growing out of the overwhelming accumulation of case law in our printed reports. The enormous volume of these reported cases is now such that an ex

a committee of that court to prepare

haustive practice

new rules of procedure in courts of equity.

become impossible. The Fifteen Trea tises and as many foreign reports in Lord Coke's time, three centuries ago, have grown to many, many thousands. With

As is well known, practice in the federal

courts has been conducted under these rules since the foundation of the Gov ernment. That great tribunal has

realized that the time has come for the simplification of that time-honored procedure. But obviously how much better it is that these revised rules should be made by the court which is to construe

by

precedent

has

the increase in the number of our courts, supreme and intermediate, in the forty six different states, and the special courts

such as the Court of Commerce and the Customs Appeals, in addition to the reg ular federal courts, the volumes of re

and apply them, than that they should

ported decisions are increasing at an

be revised by any act of Congress.

appalling rate. Numerous remedies have been suggested for this overwhelm ing accumulation of case law, such as restriction of the right of appeal, limita tion upon the publication of opinions

In this connection we should observe that much of the current criticism which

is directed against our courts for alleged technical decisions and consequent delays in the administration of justice is with out warrent and unfair, as it is really more chargeable against the existing system than against the judges who are compelled to administer it. Judges are confronted with mandatory restrictions

of constitutions and statutes requiring written opinions, and otherwise pre venting expedition in the administration of justice and apparently framed for the very purpose of taking discretion out of

our courts. The true remedy must be found in the repeal of such constitutional and statu tory provisions and in giving the judges

control over the procedure of the courts, to be regulated by their own rules. It is this reform that has worked such a revo lution in the judicial procedure of Great

Britain,

having practically

removed

questions of practice from their appel late courts.

The progress of the law is now demand

other than those of general interest as precedents, the non-publication of dis senting opinions; ‘but after thorough discussion, it was resolved by the Amer

ican Bar Association that such remedies were then impracticable, but declara tion was made, however, in favor of writing shorter opinions, especially in cases turning on facts, and those not useful as precedents. This vast accumulation of case law has had an influence even upon the qual ity, and certainly upon the length, of judicial opinions. Stenographers, though indispensable

in the exigencies of modern life, have not been an unmixed good in the prepara tion of judicial opinions. I have heard learned judges say that they had no time

to condense, and that they were compelled to give the profession the results of their unrevised dictations. This vast accumu lation of case law has not been without

ing attention, not only in relation to

its deteriorating eflect upon our own pro

judicial procedure, but to another cause

fession. It was said by Mr. William Dudley Foulke, in a recent address before

for delay in the administration of justice,