USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume I > Part 41
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Each justice has an executive officer, called a constable, who, like the justice, is elected on a township ticket. The justice must keep his own docket and furnish his own office. All remuneration in these courts is in the form of fees. In a criminal case, if the accused be acquitted, neither the justice nor the jurors receive any fee; if convicted, the prisoner pays the justice and constable and the jury, if one is called. In civil cases a justice is limited in his jurisdiction to his own township: in a criminal case his power is co-extensive with the county. Rules of evidence are supposed to be the same as in the Circuit court. In general, his criminal jurisdiction is confined to misdemeanors, and civil jurisdiction to recoveries of money judgments for one hundred dollars or less. except in case of confession of judgment, when it extends up to three hundred dollars. Practically all his jurisdiction is concurrent. In cities of more than forty-five thousand the justices are obligated to maintain an office and "shall keep their offices open every day, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, during such hours as the business thereof shall require."
JURIES.
The laws and regulations concerning petit and grand juries have remained substantially the same through the century. Under the present Constitution the practice is necessarily the same throughout the state. According to the act of March 3, 1913, "In causes tried by jury, a jury fee of four dollars and fifty cents shall be taxed as costs in favor of the county. Jurors, grand and petit, shall be paid two dollars and fifty cents per day while in actual attendance, and five cents for each mile necessarily traveled."
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Petit juries are drawn by two jury commissioners, who, according to statute, must be of opposite political faith. These commissioners receive three dollars per day for the time actually occupied in filling the box. The larger number of indictments tried by the Circuit court is presented by the grand jury. There is no serious opposition to the grand jury now, such as existed in 1850 when the constitutional conven- tion threatened to abolish it.
The sheriff of the county, a constitutional officer, is elected by the voters for a term of two years, and is the executive officer of all the minor courts except the justice of peace, city, juvenile and probate courts. The clerk of the Circuit court, also a constitutional office, is elected by the voters of the county for a term of four years. He is a clerk of all the minor courts with the exceptions noted above. The records of all the courts are kept at the county seat, with the excep- tion of the city and justice court records. All the cities of the state with mayor or police courts have city buildings in which the courts are held.
CITY COURTS.
In cities of the first, second, third and fourth classes there are city courts, presided over by a judge elected by the voters for a term of four years. In cities of the fifth class the mayor acts as judge. It seems pertinent in this connection to give the substance of the act of 1909, which classified the cities of Indiana. This act divided all the cities of the state into five classes based upon population.
The first class included all cities having a population of 100,000 or over according to the last preceding census, Indian- apolis, with a population of 233,650, is the only city of this class. James E. Deery is the Judge.
Cities having a population of 35,000 or over, and less than 100,000, according to the last preceding United States census, are denominated cities of the second class. The four cities of this class, with their population and present police judges, are given in the following table:
359
MINOR COURTS-1852-1916
Evansville
Rudolph Fritsch
60.017
Ft. Wayne H. W. Kerr
63.933
South Bend
Herbert Warner
Terre Haute
R. Voorhees Newton 58.157
Cities having a population of 20,000 or over and less than 35,000, according to the last preceding United States census, are denominated cities of the third class. There are six cities in this class, namely :
Anderson J. H. Mellett
22.170
Muncie
Ralph S. Gregory
21.005
New Albany 1 1 I I
Robert W. Morris 1 1
1
1
1 1
Hammond.
Fred Barrett
Lafayette
Thomas Bauer
I
I
1
I 20,0~1
Richmond
William J. Robbins
Cities having a population of 10,000 or over and less than 20,000, according to the last preceding United States census, and also having taxable property to the amount of $5,000,000 or over, are denominated cities of the fourth class. There are twelve cities in this class, namely :
Elkhart
C. A. Lee
10.252
Elwood
F. M. Harbit
11.02%
Huntington
A. J. Rosebrough
10,272
East Chicago
William A. Tuzy
19.00S
Gary
William M. Dunn
Kokomo
Fred J. Byers
1 1 17.010 1
Logansport
James A. West
1 19.050
Marion
James O. Batchelor 1
1:1,027
Michigan City 1 1
Edward L. Church
11 45
Mishawaka
Ralph Freig
Vincennes 1
I
1 1
1
James House
11.595
Laporte
1
D. H. McGill
10 525
Whiting
E
Roy E. Green
I
I
1
1
J
1
1
1
I I
1 1 1 1
1
1 1
1
1
I I
1
1
1
1
1 I 10.350
1
1
1 1
1 1
1
1
1 I 1
1 1
1
I
1 I
1
1
1 1
1
1
1 1
1
1
1
I
Cities with a population of from 10,000 to 20,000, but with taxable property amounting to less than $5,000,000, belong to the fifth class along with all cities having a population of less than 10,000. However, there is one city in the State Whiting-which, with a population of 6,587. belongs to the fourth class because it has taxable property in excess of $5,000,000. The cities of this class number seventy-two. They follow :
1
1
1
1
360
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Alexandria James S. Wales
Angola
Thomas J. Creel
Attica Will B. Reed
Lebanon John B. Shelby
Ligonier J. B. Schutt
Linton J. E. Turner
Batesville Charles W. Gibson
Loogootee Will K. Penrod
Bedford
Albert J. Fields
Madison
James E. Crozier
Bicknell
Tyler G. Lawton
Martinsville
John W. Anderson
Bloomington
John G. Harris
Bluffton John Mock
Monticello Benjamin F. Carr
Boonville Nat H. Youngblood
Montpelier T. C. Neal
Brazil
John J. Jones
Butler
A. A. Kramer
Cannelton
L. J. Truempy
Noblesville
E. C. Loehr
Clinton Morgan J. Tucker
Columbia City F. L. Myers
Columbus H. Earl Volland
Plymouth
Joseph C. Whitesell
Portland .C. A. Paddock
Princeton
Doris R. Head
Renssalaer
Charles G. Spitler
Crown Point
Edward A. Krost
Decatur
Charles H. Cristen
Delphi
William C. Smith
Dunkirk. O. P. Martin
Frankfort Oliver Gard
Franklin
George W. Wyrick
Garrett
J. A. Clevenger
Sullivan
Robert Calvert
Tell City Fred G. Heinzle
Tipton J. A. Lewis
Valparaiso
Perry L. Sisson
Veedersburg F. J. Batson
Vevay
R. M. Campbell
Hartford City
Ethan Secrest
Wabash James Wilson
Warsaw
Benjamin F. Richardson
Washington
John W. McCarty
Jeffersonville Ernest W. Rauth
Winchester
Harvey E. McNees
As may be seen from a tabulation of the above cities, there are twenty-four which have a city court presided over by a judge elected by the people. In the cities of the fifth class, seventy-two in number, the mayor presides over the local court. The city judges are popularly known as "police" judges and have "exclusive jurisdiction over all violations of the city ordinances." They also have original concurrent jurisdiction over all cases of petit larceny and all other vio- lation of the laws of the state where the penalty provided
Seymour
John A. Ross
Shelbyville
Henry Schoelch
Gas City
L. H. Conley
Goshen
Samuel F. Spohn
Greenfield Jonathan Q. Johnson
Greencastle J. Walter Cooper
Greensburg
J. E. Mendenhall
Huntingburg Philip Bamberger
Jasper George B. Wagner
Rising Sun
Samuel M. Seward
Rochester William Brinkman
Rockport J. J. Rimstidt
Rushville
Clata L. Bebont
Connersville Philip Braum
Covington. Thomas H. McGeorge Crawfordsville __ William C. Murphy
Mount Vernon Alonzo K. Grant
New Castle
J. L. Watkins
North Vernon J. D. Cone
Peru W. A. Hammond
Kendallville. Clinton M. Case
Lawrenceburg Estal G. Bielby
Auburn J. Y. W. Mcclellan
Aurora Thomas C. Carmichael
Mitchell Calvin Farris
361
MINOR COURTS-1852-1916
exceeds five hundred dollars or imprisonment for six months, or both. If the judge finds his power is not adequately surfi- cient to punish the accused, he may bind him over to a higher court. The executive officer is a policeman and the action of the court is summary, the great majority of the cases being disposed of without lawyer or jury. An appeal lies to the Circuit court or Criminal court.
CHAPTER XII.
APPELLATE COURT.
The creation of the Appellate court with the Legislative act of February 28, 1891, was made possible by an amend- ment to section 1, article VII, of the Constitution. This amendment, which had been adopted March 4, 1881, substi- tuted the word "other" for the word "inferior," making the section read "The judicial power of the state shall be vested in a Supreme court, in Circuit courts and in such other courts as the General Assembly may establish."
The causes leading up to the creation of this court are not difficult to enumerate. With the increase in population and the consequent increase in the amount of business handled by the various courts of the state-Circuit, Superior and Crimi- nal-the Supreme court faced a situation by 1891 which made it imperative for the Legislature to provide some relief. The creation of the Supreme court commission of 1881 and 1889 was an effort on the part of the Legislature to relieve the congested condition of the Supreme court docket. When the Supreme court, in the spring of 1889, declared the act of February 22, 1889, unconstitutional, it was very evident that some other provision would have to be made by the succeed- ing Legislature. Accordingly, when the Legislature of 1891 convened there was an insistent demand that some provision be made to relieve the Supreme court and out of this demand grew the Appellate court.
It may be said that the Appellate court has not proved an altogether satisfactory tribunal of justice. When it was or- ganized it was the intention that it should be a court of last resort in a large number of cases, but subsequent amendments to the act creating the court have made the court little more than a step between the inferior courts of the state and the Supreme court. As a matter of fact, practically every case
1
363
APPELLATE COURT
which is now appealed directly to the Appellate court is pre- sented to that judicial body in such a way that it is possible to transfer it to the Supreme court.
As originally constituted, the Appellate court had final jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to guardianships and decedents' estates and it also had the exclusive right to fore- close statutory liens. At first the limit of its jurisdiction in actions to recover on contract or for a tort was fifteen hun- dred dollars, but the Legislature of 1893 (Acts 1893, p. 29) made radical changes in the act establishing the court two years previously and changed this provision to read "All actions seeking the recovery of a money judgment only, where the amount in controversy, exclusive of costs, does not exceed thirty-five hundred dollars" shall be placed under the exclu- sive jurisdiction of the Appellate court.
The act of February 16, 1893, designated ten different actions over which the Appellate court was given exclusive jurisdiction, among them being appeals in prosecutions for misdemeanors, appeals from justice of the peace judgments where the amount did not exceed fifty dollars; all actions between landlords and tenants involving the right to posses- sion of premises ; all cases against decedents' estates, admin- istrators, guardians, executors and those having charge of infants, insane persons or idiots, and all cases of bastardy. In all cases where the jurisdiction was given to the Appellate court its decision was to be final.
In certain cases, however, which might involve some of the causes above enumerated, the right of final appeal lay to the Supreme court. Three exceptions are noted in the act of 1893. First, the Appellate court was not to have jurisdiction in any case where the constitutionality of a statute, federal or state, or the validity of an ordinance of a municipal cor- poration was in question. Secondly, it was not to have juris- diction of suits in equity, that is, such suits in equity as were recognized prior to June 18. 1852. as suits of equitable recog- nizance and wherein specific decrees were appropriate and essential. Thirdly, the Appellate court was not to have jur- isdiction where the title to real estate was at issue.
Since 1893 many changes have been made regarding the
364
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
jurisdiction of the Appellate court, with the result that it bears little resemblance to the court as it was established twenty-five years ago. As a matter of fact, it is no longer a court of dernier resort, since it is possible to prepare a brief on practically any kind of a case so that it can be transferred from the Appellate to the Supreme court. The State Bar Association has gone on record as favoring the abolition of the Appellate court and a sufficient increase in the number of members of the Supreme court to handle the business now transacted by both courts. But this change, however desir- able it may be, is not possible until the Constitution is changed. As it now stands, the Supreme court is limited to five members and only an amendment to the Constitution can relieve the situation.
When the Appellate court was established it provided for five judges with a four-year tenure and at an annual salary of thirty-five hundred dollars. The terms of the first five judges were to expire on the first Monday in January, 1893. Four new judges were elected in the fall of 1892, but they were commissioned for terms of varying length; Reinhard for two years, Gavin and Davis for three years, and Lotz for four years, all commissions dating from the first Monday in January, 1893. An act of the Legislature, approved March 4, 1893, equalized the terms of these judges by providing "That the term of each of the judges of said Appellate court shall be four years from the first day of January after his election and that all of the present judges shall continue to hold their respective offices in the districts from which they have been elected for four years from the first day of Jan- uary, 1893." A second act, approved February 7, 1899, ex- tended the terms of the judges elected in 1896 to the first Monday of January, 1903. The act of March 12, 1901, added another member to the court and two years later the Legis- lature increased the salaries of the judges to six thousand dollars a year. Each judge is allowed the sum of one thou- sand dollars annually for stenographic and clerical work in the preparation of opinions. The Legislature also appro- priates from fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars an- nually for office, chamber and library expense.
365
APPELLATE COURT
When the Appellate court was established in 1891 the state was divided into five districts, as follows :
The First district was composed of the following coun- ties : Monroe, Owen, Clay, Parke, Morgan, Sullivan, Vigo, Greene, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Dubois, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Perry and Orange.
The Second district was composed of the following coun- ties : Ohio, Rush, Switzerland, Dearborn, Shelby, Brown, Lawrence, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Clark, Scott, Jeffer- son, Ripley, Decatur, Bartholomew, Jackson, Washington and Jennings.
The Third district included these counties: Tippecanoe, White, Johnson, Warren, Fountain, Montgomery, Clinton, Boone, Tipton, Hamilton, Marion, Vermillion, Putnam and Hendricks.
The Fourth district: Allen, Whitley, Huntington, Wells, Adams, Grant, Blackford, Delaware, Randolph, Jay, Howard, Madison, Hancock, Henry, Fayette, Union and Franklin.
The Fifth district: Lake, Benton, Porter, Laporte. St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, Starke, Jasper, New- ton, Pulaski, Fulton, Wabash, Miami, Cass, Carroll, Lagrange. Steuben, Dekalb and Noble.
When the General Assembly, on March 12, 1901, created an additional Appellate Judge, the act also provided for dividing the state into two Appellate court districts, placing forty-six counties in each district.
The first district includes the following counties: Bar- tholomew, Brown, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois, Floyd, Franklin, Gibson, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Marion, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam. Ripley. Rush, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Union Vanderburgh, Vigo, Warrick and Washington.
The second district includes the following counties : Adams, Allen, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clin- ton, Dekalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Fayette, Fountain, Fulton, Grant, Hamilton, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jasper, Jay, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Lake, Laporte, Madison, Marshall,
366
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Miami, Montgomery, Newton, Noble, Porter, Pulaski, Ran- dolph, Starke, Steuben, St. Joseph, Tipton, Tippecanoe, Ver- million, Wabash, Warren, Wayne, Wells, White and Whitley.
As the court is now constituted, three judges are assigned to each district, Edward W. Felt, Milton B. Hottel and John C. McNutt having charge of all cases appealed from the First district, and Joseph G. Ibach, Fred S. Caldwell and James J. Moran having charge of all appealed cases of the Second dis- trict. Judge Felt is the Presiding Judge of the First district and Judge Ibach, the Chief Judge of the court, is Presiding Judge of the Second district. The other officials of the Ap- pellate court at the present time are as follows: J. Fred France, clerk; Philip Zoercher, reporter; Harry W. Pember- ton, sheriff; W. Cary Carson, librarian. The clerk and re- porter are elected by popular vote, while the sheriff and librarian are appointees of the court.
Since the Appellate court was established in 1891 thirty Judges have sat on its bench. A brief sketch of each judge is given below:
Governor Hovey appointed the five Appellate Judges on March 12, 1891, pursuant to the act of February 28, estab- lishing the court. The judges were James B. Black, Jeptha D. New, Milton S. Robinson, George L. Reinhard and Edgar D. Crumpacker. Judge New served until his death, July 9, 1892, and Governor Chase appointed Willard New, his son, to fill his father's unexpired term, or until January 1, 1893. Sketches of the News, father and son, have already been given.
James Buckley Black was born at Morristown, New Jer- sey, July 21, 1838. His parents, Michael Black and Jane (Whitesides) Black, were natives of Ireland, of Scotch-Irish descent, both being born in the north of Ireland. His par- ents were brought up in the established church, but became Methodists before emigrating to America after their mar- riage in Ireland. The family came to Indiana in 1846, where the father became a Methodist preacher and was attached to the North Indiana conference and other conferences of In- diana. James B. Black was educated in private schools. At sixteen he became a school teacher, earning thereby the
367
APPELLATE COURT
means of attending college. He spent three years as a stu- dent at Asbury University, Greencastle, and the first and sec- ond terms of the junior year at Indiana University, Bloom- ington. While a student at the State University he enlisted, in April, 1861, as a soldier in the Union army and was dis- charged three years and eight months later. He received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Indiana University in 1875. He was admitted to the bar in 1866. In 1868 he was elected reporter of the Supreme court of Indiana, and in 1872 was re-elected to the same office. In the two terms he published twenty-four volumes of Indiana Reports. In poli- tics he has always been a Republican. At various times he has been a member of the faculties of three law schools at Indianapolis. He served for a short period as a member of the board of school commissioners of Indianapolis. In 1882 he was elected by the Supreme court as a member of the Supreme court commission, in which capacity he served three years. He prepared Black's Indiana Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Indiana (73 to 144 Ind.) covering the years 1881-88.
Upon the creation of the Appellate court of Indiana he was appointed (March 12, 1891) by Governor Hovey as a member of the bench of that court. In 1892 he was nom- inated to that office by the Republican state convention, but was defeated with his ticket, and resumed the practice of law upon retiring from the bench, January, 1893. In 1896. 1898 and 1902 he was re-elected to the Appellate court. serving until January 1, 1907. He again resumed practice when he retired from public service. In 1873 he was mar- ried to Amelia Keith Pruddens, who died in 1910. He is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Indianapolis Literary Club, the Indianapolis Shakespeare Club. He has resided at Indianapolis since his return from service in the army. For a number of years Judge Black was a member of the board of visitors of the Grand Army of the Republic to the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home. He wrote the statute under which that institution was organized in 1887.
368
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Milton S. Robinson was born at Versailles, Ripley county, Indiana, April 20, 1832, the son of Joseph and Margaret Jar- vis Robinson. He was educated in the Greensburg schools and when seventeen years old began the study of law in his father's office. In June, 1851, he was admitted to the bar and located in Anderson. In 1861 he was elected to the House of Representatives and in September, 1861, joined the army practice, in which he continued till the latter part of 1910, as lieutenant colonel of the Forty-seventh Indiana Regiment of Volunteers. He served throughout the greater part of the war, returning to Anderson in March, 1865, because of ill health. While in the army he was breveted brigadier-gen- eral for gallant conduct. He resumed his practice and in 1866 was elected state senator, serving from 1867 and 1869. In 1874 he was elected to Congress from the sixth congress- ional district and re-elected in 1876. He was a director for many years of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan railway. In 1891 he was appointed judge of the Appellate court, but served only until July 28, 1892, the date of his death. On' July 8, 1856, he married Almira H. Ballard, who died, and he later married Louise A. Branham, of Columbus, Indiana.
Henry C. Fox was born January 20, 1836, in Preble county, Ohio, near West Elkton. His parents were Levi and Rebecca (Inman) Fox. He was reared on a farm, received a common school education and for six years taught school in Butler county, Ohio. He came to Indiana in 1859 and studied law in the office of George W. Julian, at Centerville. He was ad- mitted to the bar in the spring of 1861. In the fall he en- listed, but returned home in October, 1862, because of ill health. He resumed his profession and made further studies under N. H. Johnson and in 1864 settled at Hagerstown, where he practiced until 1868 and then removed to Center- ville to become the partner of Judge Peele. He served, 1864- 68, as district attorney of the Common Pleas court. He re- moved to Richmond in 1873, where he has since practiced, and in 1878 he was elected Judge of the Wayne Superior court, serving until 1879, when the court was abolished. He became Appellate Judge by appointment and served from August 20, 1892, to 1893. He has been Judge of the Seven-
369
APPELLATE COURT
teenth circuit since November 10, 1896, his present term ex- piring in 1920.
George L. Reinhard was born in Bavaria, Germany, July 5, 1843. After receiving such knowledge as the schools of his time afforded, he came with his mother and stepfather to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he went to work for an uncle at a wood lathe. In April, 1861, he enlisted in the Union army and served as a private and served three years and four months. Upon returning from the war he determined to adopt the law as a profession and entered a private school at Cincinnati for a year, and in 1866 became a student at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Owing to a lack of money he left college in 1868, went into Kentucky to teach and studied law during his leisure hours. While in Kentucky he was admitted to the bar. In the winter of 1870-71 he re- turned to Indiana and located at Rockport. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the Second judicial circuit and re-elected in 1878. In 1879 he published a legal text book, "Indiana Criminal Law." In 1882 he was elected Judge of the circuit composed of Warrick, Spencer and Perry counties and was re-elected in 1888. He was appointed a member of the Appellate court in 1891, and, by election the following year, served until 1897. In 1897 he was elected professor of law at Indiana University and served as professor up to 1902. From 1902 until his death he was professor and dean of the law school and vice-president of the university. In 1903 he issued a text book on the "Law of Agency." He died at Bloomington, July 13, 1906. He married Mary Wilson, of Daviess county, Kentucky, in 1869. They had two children.
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