6 to exceed One Thousand Dollars, or by imprisonment in 7 the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by 8 both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the 9 court. SECTION 155. Disqualification to hold office.] If any 2 person shall be convicted under the last preceding sec3 tion, any public office or place of public employment 4 which such person may hold shall by force of such con5 viction be rendered vacant. Provided, however, that any 6 violation of said sections 152 and 153 shall also be a cause 7 for removal within the meaning of Section of this .... 8 Act [referring to Section 107 of Appendix B.] SECTION 156. What officers to prosecute.] Prosecu 2 tions for violation of Sections 152 and 153 of this Act 3 may be instituted either by the attorney-general, the 4 state's attorney for the county in which the offense is 5 alleged to have been committed, or by the Council of 6 Judges hereinbefore mentioned, acting through its spe7 cial counsel. Such suits shall be conducted and con8 trolled by the prosecuting officers who institute them 9 unless they request the aid of other prosecuting officers. PART X. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. SECTION 157. Effect of invalidity of portions of the 2 act.] The invalidity of any part of this act shall not ef3 fect the validity of any other part thereof which can be 4 given effect without such invalid part. If the Act is submitted as a schedule to a constitutional amendment or a new constitution, then no referendum clause would be necessary. If, however, the Act is passed by the legislature after the adoption of a new constitution or constitutional amendment, then perhaps a referendum clause should be added as follows: Section 138. Referendum.] This Act shall be submitted to the legal voters of the State at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, A. D. 19... The ballots to be used at said election in voting upon this Act shall be in substantially the following form: For consenting to the Act entitled "An Act to Against consenting to the Act entitled "An Act to create the General Court of Judica- If a majority of the legal voters voting on the question at such election shall vote in favor of consenting to this Act, then an election for Chief Justice shall be held in accordance with the provisions of this Act at the general election occurring on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the year next after such consent to this Act. Thereupon on said last mentioned day this Act shall be operative and in full force and effect. PROPOSED SECTIONS FOR THE JUDICIAL ARTICLE OF A STATE CONSTITUTION. NOTE ON THE NECESSITY FOR AND SCOPE OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRECEDING ACT. It is, of course, a necessary condition to securing any such Act as has been presented that the usual judicial article of a state constitution be revised. A proposed draft of such a revision is herewith presented. THE SUPREME COURT. It is assumed that the court of last resort is to pass finally upon the constitutionality of acts of the legislature. Hence this court must be fully protected by the Constitution from interference by the legislature. It follows that the organization, jurisdiction, mode of selecting the judges of the court, their tenure and mode of retirement and salary, must be dealt with in the Constitution. 1. As to organization: The Constitution should prescribe the number of judges. This is important to prevent the packing of the court by an increase in the number by the legislature. The number might be any odd number from three to seven-we will assume seven. It is important to provide that the court of last resort, while retaining its position and power, may be made an integral part of a system of courts for the entire state. One of the seven judges should be a permanent Chief Justice for the purpose of concentrating responsibility for the administration of justice by the court. 111 2. The jurisdiction of the court: The most important point here is the protection of the court's jurisdiction over all causes involving the validity of an Act of the legislature, or the construction of the Constitution, or the invalidity of the acts of any officer or department of government by reason of any prohibition of the Constitution. At present it is usual to force an appellate jurisdiction upon the Supreme Court in special classes of cases such as criminal cases in which a franchise or freehold is involved. It is one thing, however, to protect the Supreme Court in its jurisdiction and quite another thing to force jurisdiction upon it so that in any class of cases specified every litigant has a right to go on to the Supreme Court. It would seem sufficient if the Constitution conferred upon the Supreme Court all appellate jurisdiction and then provided that (except in cases where the validity of an Act of the legislature, or the construction or application of the Constitution was involved) the Supreme Court might limit the exercise of such jurisdiction as in its discretion it determined by general rules entered upon its records. This would enable the court fully to take care of the situation where an intermediate Appellate Court was created and where it was desired that its judgment be final, unless the intermediate Appellate Court certified the case up for a decision by the Supreme Court or the latter required the case to be sent up by a writ of certiorari. On the other hand, it is not desirable to give any court the unrestricted power to refuse jurisdiction. Hence any limitation upon the exercise of jurisdiction by the Supreme Court should be subject at all times to be repealed wholly or in part by the legislature. The constitutional provisions are drafted in accordance with these views. 3. Mode of selecting and retiring judges of the Supreme Court: It is necessary that this be settled by the constitution. What provisions shall be made depends upon what conclusion is reached in regard to the selection and retirement of judges generally. Such a conclusion, it is believed, must be reached in view of what has been stated in Bulletin IV-A and in Appendix B post. 4. Salary: So far as associate justices of the Supreme Court are concerned, it is only necessary to fix their salary subject to be changed by the legislature, but not to be diminished during the continuance of the associate justices in office. With regard to the Chief Justice, his salary should be fixed subject to be changed by the legislature, but not diminished or increased during his term of office. AS TO THE OTHER COURTS. Our State Constitutions have frequently gone on to provide a general scheme of inferior courts for the state and sometimes for a particular metropolitan district as well, and have placed the scheme of courts so established beyond the power of the legislature to alter or change. This has been done for the purpose of securing uniformity and to prevent the creation of a great number of special courts with special jurisdictions. It has also been done for the purpose of placing beyond the power of the legislature the method. in which judges of inferior courts were to be selected and retired. Our experience has shown that in order to obtain relief from the evil of lack of uniformity a worse condition has been encountered. The tying of the hands of the legislature has held back for a generation many needed improvements and experiments in the organization of our courts, the methods of handling judicial business and methods of selecting and retiring the judges. In spite of great changes in the social structure and the increasing demands upon the courts, nothing could be done to improve the judicial machine. While the amendment or revision of the Constitution has waited, the administration of justice and the efficiency of the courts has declined. It is believed that a desirable uniformity in the organization of our courts may be obtained without placing the subject-matter of the organization of the inferior courts beyond the power of the legislature. If at the time the Constitution takes effect there should come into operation along with it a complete scheme for a unified court for the entire state, then a desirable uniformity will be secured by reason of the fact that the needs of the State will have been met in a complete and comprehensive way. It is believed that |