The Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the New York State Bar Association HE reform of procedure was the principal topic considered at the thirty-fourth annual meeting of the New
on the final vote there were twenty-nine
against accepting the committee's re
cuse, Jan. 19-20. The keynote of the meeting was struck by President Elihu
port, and fifty-two in favor, and the committee will go again to the Legis lature to secure, if possible, the change which Justice Hughes was so anxious
Root's notable annual address, which broadly dealt with the subject, "Reform
to bring about. Cases were cited in New York where
in Procedure."
Almost every speaker,
men had been practically imprisoned for
whatever the subject of his remarks,
life on failure to pay judgment in civil actions. It was the sense of the report that all cases where there is actual fraud or conversion should be treated under the criminal laws. "Where there
York State Bar Association at Syra
recognized a general criticism of the courts. The convention opened on Thursday morning at ten o'clock, Senator Elihu
Root presiding. A good share of the morning session was taken up with the reports of committees.
is no conviction," they said,
"there
should be no imprisonment.” The Committee on Bankruptcy re ported in favor of the introduction of
INCOMPETENT Juocas tion the Shirley for receivers, bill, which and fixes the report compensa~ was
Frank criticism of the Supreme Court Justices of the state was made by Adel bert Moot of Buffalo, a former president of the Association, at the afternoon
session. In the course of a paper on the topic, "How can We Improve Our Courts?" he produced tables of figures showing the days upon which the Jus tices held court, and said that the only judicial district from which there had been no complaint was the fifth dis trict, in which Syracuse is situated. "The trouble with the New York Justices," said'Mr. Moot, "is that they work too short hours, too few days and
are altogether too incompetent when they do work." He regarded it as a failure of duty when Judges work from eleven in the morning until four in the afternoon. The New York City members were
most heartily in favor of the proposed bill relating to body executions. Sev eral up‘state lawyers were opposed and
adopted.
THE CRIMINAL INSANE The report of the special committee on the commitment and discharge of the criminal insane aroused consider able discussion. The committee re ferred to the scandal of sham pleas of insanity and as a remedy offered the
following proposed enactment: If, upon the trial of any person accused of any offense, it appears to the jury upon the evidence that such person did the act charged, but was at the time insane, so as not to bere
sponsible for his actions, the jury shall return a special verdict, "guilty, but insane," and there upon the court shall sentence such person to confinement in a state asylum for the criminal insane for such term as he would have had to serve in prison but for the finding of insanity; and if, upon the expiration of such term, it shall ap pear to the court that such person is still insane, his confinement in such asylum shall continue during insanity, and further, when such a verdict of "guilty, but insane," is returned in a case where the penalty for the verdict of guilty against
