Index to Periodicals especially the latter; or by legislation, as in New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas and Cali fornia, have substantially adopted these reforms [preventing repeated new trials and technical reversals]. In the latter state it was done by constitutional amendment in 1911. Unfor tunately this applies only to criminal cases. Equity rules 19 and 22, just promulgated by the United States Supreme Court, apply to the federal equity practice the rule thus embodied in the New York Code. Let us hope that the federal courts in common law cases, and the state courts in all the states, will soon fall into line, and restore the United States to the position of a country in which justice is administered without delay, and causes are decided upon the merits." "The Operation of the Reformed Equity Procedure in England." [By Lord Loreburn.] 26 Harvard Law Review 99 (Dec). Consisting of answers furnished by the late Lord Chancellor to questions asked by Mr. Justice Lurton, when the latter was gathering information for use by the Supreme Court in revising the rules of equity procedure. The answers cover such points as the practical bene fit of a single form of action at law and in equity, how actions are begun and pleaded, how dilatory tactics of counsel are prevented, the taking of evidence whether orally in court or by deposition, methods of obtaining discovery and the manner of making up the transcript of a case for appeal. "The Procedure in our American Judicial System." By Frederick N. Judson. 46 Ameri can Law Review 865 (Nov.-Dec.). "We now recognize that the demand for simplicity in procedure does not spring from ignorant reformers and radical iconoclasts, but is a progressive step in the rational advance of a progressive jurisprudence. Forms were re garded with superstitious reverence in the early stages of society, but we now recognize that the simpler the procedure the better it serves its pur poses. It does not mean that accuracy and precision of statement in judicial procedure shall be any less important than they are now, or that a clear and concise statement of the facts in issue will not always be effective. Substance and not form, however, must be of the first importance." "The Bar and Legal Reform." By Frederick Payler. National Review, v. 60, p. 649 (Dec.). The diminution of litigation in England is attributed by the writer to the delays of proce dure, the remoteness of the final determination of the controversy, and the expensiveness of lawsuits. Some interesting figures are given on the subject of costs. The writer has much to say about the monopoly exercised by the bar, and he thinks that solicitors should sometimes have the power to try cases with the details of which they are minutely familiar, to obviate the payment of fees to counsel simply acting under the solicitor's instructions. The etiquette of the bar which compels the client to meet the
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expense of two fees, both to "silks" and junior counsel, is also assailed. "More than once the late Lord Chancellor [Loreburn] stated that the ideal condition was to have a judge available to try an action the day after it was set down. ... At the present moment a gulf of something like six months separates setting down a case and coming to trial." Professional Ethics. "Work of the Com mittee on Professional Ethics of the New York County Lawyers' Association." By Charles A. Boston, chairman. 3 Bench and Bar (N. S.) 66 (Dec). "After the adoption of the American Bar Assotiation's canons the County Association's Com mittee did not view its labors as at an end, nor its functions as purely nominal. ... It felt that something more concise and more compiehensive than the American Bar canons might be compiled and promulgated, so as to put before members of the New York Bar, in shorter form, the general principles of the essentials of a law yer's professional duties. This was not designed to supersede, but to supplement, the work of the American Bar Association; it approached the subject from a slightly different angle, and emphasized a lawyer's duties in the logical cate gories of his duty toward the state, the court, clients, adversaries and fellow lawyers; and as a public officer, a public prosecutor and a judge. . . . Finally this product of the Com mittee's labors, after about eighteen months of consideration, was submitted to the Board of Directors, who, in turn, submitted it at a stated meeting for the action of the Association. The Association, however, was not satisfied with the work as a whole and recommitted it to the Board, though declaring in favor of some form of such statement to be adopted by the Association. The Board still has it under consideration, hav ing meanwhile invited additional suggestions from the Committee." Public Ownership. "Some Problems of Pub lic Ownership." By Walter S. Allen. North American Review, v. 197, p. 8 (Jan.). "A most important feature to be considered by any public body before embarking in a plan for public ownership is the risk of obsolescence and the possible need of entire replacement in a short time. This is a risk which private com panies always bear in mind and one which pub lic bodies usually ignore." Questioned Documents. "Identification of Pencil and Stylographic Marks." By Web ster A. Melcher. 46 American Law Review 877 (Nov.-Dec). Uniformity of Laws. "Unifying Tendencies in American Legislation." By Professor Ernst Freund. 22 Yale Law Journal, 96 (Dec). This is a translation of an article originally published in German in the Jahrbuch fur OeffeniItches Recht, 1911.
