Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

E. C. Stimson:

Mr. President, since the suspension of consideration of this matter I have had talk with various members of the Association, and there seems to be in the minds of many of them a doubt as to the wisdom of making any change in our published plan. That is what Mr. Manly suggested. There is grave doubt as to the propriety under any conditions of swapping horses when you are crossing the stream. So I am not going to present that motion. Mr. Lewis has said that he did not choose to do it. He handed me what he had written out, but I am going to withdraw my suggestion. It was not intended as an expression from the committee, but merely the expression of one individual.

If such a motion is presented it will have to be presented by some persons who are more in earnest than I am about changing this plan at this time.

Harry E. Kelly:

Since I made the motion-and you all of course know under what circumstances I made the motion--I have come to this conclusion. I assumed when the statement was made that by the modification every candidate's opportunities to secure the endorsement of the Bar was increased. Am I wrong in that?

President Dubbs:

The opportunities were increased.

Harry E. Kelly:

Yes, I understood it that way. Our object was to give somebody the endorsement of the Bar who had the most members of the Bar in favor of him. I assumed from the modification that was suggested that the opportunity to get that and the opportunity to have the expression of the entire Bar at large rather than to restrict it would be accomplished. If it would be a restraint I am not in favor of it. I assumed it would enlarge

President Dubbs:

The chair does not care to express itself on that. The chair simply stated what it understood to be Judge Stimson's original suggestion as to postponing the plan of elimination slightly. The chair has no views on the subject.

Harry E. Kelly:

What we are after here is to enlarge rather than to restrict.

President Dubbs:

If you will make any motion, Mr. Kelly

Harry E. Kelly:

Of course you understand I have no interest in this except I want to help along a good thing, that is all, but I will be glad if this resolution is withdrawn. Mr. Lewis presented it anyhow, so he can do as he pleases.

E. C. Stimson:

The fourth ballot is now going on.

Harry E. Kelly:

If the gentlemen here think by passing this motion they are restricting anyone, I do not want to be responsible for changing the rules of the game. I assumed it was enlarging the oppor

tunities and would get a real expression of the Association. I do not care about any individual-I want the expression of this Bar. Nobody has any right here; no rights have accrued. The only right there is is that every member of this Bar may express himself.

I offer the following motion, to be read by Mr. Lewis, and to appear in the record in my name.

Lawrence Lewis:

This would come, Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen, as I under

stand, as an amendment to the eighth subdivision of the rules of procedure:

(Reading.) Eighth: If, on the fourth ballot, any candidate shall receive a majority of the votes cast on said fourth ballot, he shall be declared the choice of the Bar; but if no candidate shall receive such a majority on such fourth ballot, the canvassing board shall thereupon select the names of those candidates receiving the greatest number of votes whose combined votes shall constitute 60 per cent. of the entire vote cast on such fourth ballot, and list the same as hereinabove provided, and, on the fifth ballot, the candidates shall be limited to those whose names appear on such list. In making up this aggregate of 60 per cent., in case it shall be necessary to include a candidate whose vote is a tie with that of any other candidate, both such candidates shall be placed upon such selected list.

On taking the fifth ballot if no candidate shall receive a majority of the entire votes, the canvassing board shall certify the names of the two candidates leading in the number of votes cast (or the names of the three leading candidates, in case any two of them are tied) and a ballot shall thereupon be taken, as a result of which the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared the choice of the Bar if such number be a majority vote; but if on the sixth ballot no candidate receives a majority vote, there being three candidates, the canvassing board shall drop the name of the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes and ballot shall then be taken on the remaining two candidates.

George F. Dunklee:

I second the motion.

President Dubbs:

Gentlemen, you have heard the motion, which is seconded. Is there any further discussion desired upon the motion.

George F. Dunklee:

I simply desire to say this, if we are to get a true expression from the Bar as to our candidate for the supreme bench, we must not eliminate them as fast as the present rules require, in my judgment, when we consider that we are suggesting a candidate for the whole State. I believe now there are eight candidates, are there not?

President Dubbs:

I think so.

George F. Dunklee:

It seems to me that this motion will result in getting a better expression of the Bar, and it will be more satisfactory and fairer to all.

The first ballot does not really amount to anything except to get nominations. The second vote gets a little better choice, but there are altogether too many candidates. When we get down to the positions as they now stand, where there are eight, we ought to have at least two chances to vote in order to have the benefit of what the general sentiment of the Bar is as expressed in the next two or three votes.

For that reason I am very strongly in favor of this motion, as tending, in my opinion, not to restrict anybody's right, but to enlarge it, and give another choice even if the vote should be such in time that it eliminated all except two of them.

Secretary Wadley:

One practical suggestion, it seems to me, ought to be taken into consideration in connection with this motion, and that is I understand there is to be a Progressive assembly on the 24th and a Democratic assembly on the 30th of this month. It will take all our machinery can do to get the fifth ballot under the arrangement as it is now made to appear with the candidate before the

Progressive assembly. It is questionable whether we can get in a sixth ballot in time to get before the Democratic assembly, that is, to have it completed and have the name presented in such shape that it might be accepted by the assembly.

While I think the motion presents a good idea for future. elections, it seems to me that it does not give us sufficient advantage on the other hand to justify our being excluded from these assemblies held at the times for which they are set.

Thomas J. O'Donnell:

We are now in the midst of balloting, and it is proposed to change the plan. In addition to the practical suggestion made by Mr. Wadley, our Secretary, I have the ethical objection founded on the question adjudicated and reported, I presume in “In re lulu", cited by Mr. Manly. (Laughter.)

This is our first attempt, and it is more important in this even than with respect to lawsuits that it should be decided under right influences and that it should be decided right, that there should be no suspicion of the judgment having been arrived at by any irregular way, and I very gravely fear that this small number of members of the Bar here assembled changing that which we may say was adopted by the entire Bar which is participating in the ballot, will arouse dissatisfaction. It is very easy to see that it can be made the subject of just criticism.

I think in addition to the practical suggestion-which seems to be very practical indeed, and conclusive in itself-that we ought not to change this. I quite agree with Mr. Dunklee in thinking that the process of elimination is too sudden. This is a case of afterthought for which no one is to blame. But it started this way, and possibly we could go a little further yet in planning for the future, but I think we better proceed now on the plan which we started.

Ernest Morris:

During the primaries for the nomination of judges in the

« ZurückWeiter »