The Incapacity of the Judiciary
535
ing and always suggestive, cannot be accepted as trustworthy in its analysis
of society. Naturally he proceeds on the assumption that a minimum of
of the causation of crime.
Lombroso,
interference with the freedom of the
in his interpretation of the various
criminal is desirable, and his views on
factors, necessarily treats them with
the general topics of the indeterminate
partialities and prepossessions that spring from the very nature of a mind carrying to an extreme the preference, characteristic of the Latin race, of the objective and concrete to the subjective and ideal. A physiological conception overshadows and dominates his whole philosophy, and to avoid the perplexities of sociology he too frequently takes refuge in ill digested statistics.
sentence, probation, detention of the criminal insane, and the humane treat
The second part, dealing with "Pro phylaxis and Therapeusis of Crime,"
discusses possible "penal substitutefi,H meaning measures designed to decrease or suppress crime, and here the treat ment is unskilled, garrulous and naive,
the author lightly disposing of problems which require deep study, and offering cocksure judgments on questions of
political science and economies which often reveal a striking absence of ripe
knowledge and keen discernment.
He
succeeds only in showing the possibilities
of an interesting field of inquiry. "Synthesis and Application," the third and concluding part, is the most satis factory section of the book. In it he develops his views on penology, from
the fundamental idea that penalties must be designed not for the punishment of the individual, but for the protection
ment of occasional offenders in general, are right to the point and are made to seem more practical by reference to penal methods actually employed which illustrate his theories. In dealing with
specific crimes the writer may some times be too bold in expressing novel ideas, but his general position is sound. His evident disposition to minimize the wrongfulness of prostitution, abor tion, and infanticide perhaps springs from an ill-considered contempt for moral conventions which really originate in the effort of society to perpetuate and protect the family. Here, as elsewhere,
the individualistic and realistic cast of his mind seems to reveal itself in an unfavorable light. In less than a bun dred pages he is not able to give very comprehensive study to the more specific problems of modern penology, but the moral elevation of the concluding chap ter on symbiosis, pleading for the utili
zation of the forces of crime by employing them in co-operation with other factors, to advance the welfare of society, atones, despite an indefiniteness of form, for
many defects of a brilliant though superficial performance.
The Incapacity of the Judiciary 1 CRITICISM of the judiciary, if just, is desirable, and the main
causes for contemporary criticism of the bench, in the opinion of Everett V. Abbot and Charles A. Boston, have been a num
l"The Judiciary and the Admlnistration of the Law." 45 American Law Review 481 (July-Aug.)
ber of deteriorating influences which
