The Green Bag
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from the Circuit Court of Appeals in volving only the jurisdiction of the court below and cases arising under
the Criminal Appeals act only forty five minutes are allowed. The time for arguing motions is cut
down from one hour to forty-five min utes, and special provision is made for the prompt disposition of cases appealed apparently for the purpose of delay or depending on questions so frivolous as not to need further argument. To this end the Court will receive a motion to affirm on either of these grounds.
The American Prison Congress Interesting addresses were made be fore the American Prison Association
this country is a disgrace to civiliza tion," Judge C.A. De Courcy, Justice of
the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, pointed out that the ‘United States was conspicuous for the great number of unpunished murderers. The defense of insanity,the limitation of thepower of
judges and the character of testimony allowed to be introduced in behalf of the defendant were some of the evils which, he said, ought to be rectified. “The number of homicides in this coun try for 1910 was 8,975——an increase of nearly 900 over the number in 1909; yet but one in eighty-six was capitally punished in 1910 as against one in seventy-four during the year preced ing,” said Judge De Courcy. “It is said that in 1896 for each million of the
population there were 118 homicides
at its meeting in Omaha, Oct. 17. Attor
in the United States; in Italy less than
ney-General Wickersham favored exten
fifteen;
sion of the federal parole law to include life prisoners. He regarded it as an incongruity that prisoners sentenced to long terms for vicious crimes should be eligible for parole when the man con victed of second degree murder must
in Great Britain less than nine; in Germany less than five. “In New York City, 119 cases of homicide were investigated by the grand jury during the last year, but only
remain in prison for life. Since the parole law was placed in
reports 202 homicides were committed in that city during the last year. Only one of the offenders was hanged; fifteen were sent to the penitentiary and the others were set free. In Louisville, with a population of 224,000, during the
operation last autumn, the Attorney
General said, only one prisoner had vio lated his parole. The two hundred prisoners who were paroled from the time the law was put into effect in the autumn of 1910 to June 30 earned nearly $22,000, whereas, if they had remained in prison, the Attorney-Gen eral pointed out they would have been a charge on the Government. Mr.
Wickersham expressed the belief that the parole boards should be enlarged
by adding two unofficial persons selected
in Canada less than thirteen;
forty-five convictions resulted. Chicago
last year, there were forty-seven cases
of homicide and not a single murderer was hanged. In Alabama a conviction for stealing hides was recently set aside because the indictment failed to state whether they were mule, cow, goat or sheep hides. And indictments were dis missed because ‘father’ was spelled ‘farther’ (in South Carolina); because
from among prominent citizens of the locality in which the prison is situated. QuotintT President Taft as saying that
the letter ‘i' was omitted in spelling ‘malice’ (in Alabama)." Judge De
“The '
law reforms which included simplified
ation of criminal law in
Courcy then suggested some criminal
