who killed her perfidious lover; another of an Italian named Nino, who shot his wife; and a third of a native named Scott, guilty of the same crime. Before Recorder Goff Marie Barbicri was convicted; but, on a new trial after a reversal by the court of appeals, she was acquitted. The reversing opinion will be found in 149 Court of Appeals Reports, page 256, and is notable for the extraor dinary manner in which the judge writing the leading opinion entered upon a personal criticism of the recorder. Judge Vann seems to have deprecated this, for he gave this note to a reporter: "I concur in the result." This is the, perhaps unprecedented, kind of language used at the conclusion of his opinion by Judge Miles O'Brien, for merly attorney general of the State : " The questions already discussed are sufficient to dispose of the appeal, and to show that the appellant did not have a fair trial; but the record discloses other rulings difficult, if not impossible, to defend, but to consider them would unnecessarily extend the discussion. A careful examination of the whole charge leaves the impression from its general tone and entire character that the learned re corder passed the line which limits the judi cial function." Quoting from a Federal case, Judge O'Brien continues, " When a charge takes the form of animated argument the liability is great that the propositions of law may become so intermingled with in ferences springing from forensic ardor, that errors intervene which the pursuit of a different course would have avoided." The conviction of Nino was also reversed (155 N. Y. Court of Appeals Reports), but only at the expense of practically reversing the celebrated McNaughton case, where Chief-Justice Tindal of England gave the opinion in behalf of the twelve judges. Judge Bartlett, then recently elected, with only civil law experience, in delivering the opinion boldly says, after quoting the Mc Naughton opinion, " Such is not the law of this State." But the extent, or limitation of
mental and moral responsibility, as there defined by Chief-Justice Tindal, had been previously adopted in many previously re ported cases in New York State and in other States. In the Scott case (157 N. Y. Court of Appeals Reports) the appellate court in affirming Recorder Goff seems to have re pented of the semi-personal views it gave to him in the Barbieri case; for the Scott opin ion contained expressions of marked kind ness toward him, and the bench was sub stantially composed of the same judges. In addition to his judicial duties (which are shared by four associate judges of recent creation, in order to aid in dispatching criminal cases, yearly increasing in a popula tion fast approaching two millions of inhabit ants), Recorder Goff is ex officia member of a commission that apportions the metropoli tan expenses; also of another commission which cares for the Sinking Fund of the Corporation; and of a third which adjudi cates on appeal assessments for local public improvements. And in these semi-civic and semi-judicial coordinate duties, Recorder Goff has given acknowledged popular satis faction to associates and constituents. Recorder Goff cannot be called an e-loquent orator, nor has he ever aimed to be one. But he is master of the colloquial method which is nowadays at the bar be lieved to be more efficacious at nisi prias, in chamber practice and in banco than in such flights of oratory as pertained to the elden times of Erskine and Brougham, or those of Wirt, Prentiss, Webster, Rufus Choate and David Paul Brown. Recorder Goff seldom has disagreements among the juries that he charges. He speaks without hesitation; deliberately, yet by no means prosily; is magnetic in voice and look when addressing a jury; conversa tionally logical, never attempting persuasion, avoiding even implications of personal views when marshalling facts, and preferring simple Saxon words to those of Latin or Norman
