Law: The Judge

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And yet, the power of a judge is very real, his responsibilities are very great, and his qualifications should be very high. "He is supposed," writes Judge Wells in his thoughtful book, The Man In Court (Putnam), "to know the law, at least he ought to know court procedure and the law of his state thereon by heart. In New York State, for example, the Code of Civil Procedure is 500,000 words long. He is bound to take judicial notice without being told of all the statutes of the State Legislature, which are being passed at the rate of 600 a year. He is also supposed to know the laws of the U. S. and to be thoroughly familiar with the latest decisions of the Supreme Court of the U. S., and those for the past 125 years. He must understand and look as if he knew beforehand any decision of the courts of his own state cited, which are conveniently and neatly printed in 219 [1917] New York Court of Appeals Reports, 173 volumes of the Appellate Division Reports, and 96 volumes of the Miscellaneous Re ports, to say nothing of the opinions and decisions which are not printed at all. His knowledge of the law is a fearful and wonderful thing; he must have an oceanic mind."

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