CONNECTICUT: No Order in the Court

In Connecticut's municipal courts, the scales of justice teetered crazily. With two complete sets of judges on the job—those appointed by the last Republican regime and a new batch named by Democratic Governor Chester Bowles—the state had exactly twice as many judges as it could use.

In New London, Democrats set up their own court and dismissed every case on the docket an hour before Republican Judge Louis C. Wool convened his court. Rival judges in Norwalk struck a rickety compromise—Republicans judged the even-numbered cases, Democrats the odd. Six habitual drunkards, up for sentencing in Waterbury, explained their presence: We...