N.J. Constitutional Convention: Vol. 4, Page 478
equity cases in with strictly law cases would lead to a breakdown of the credence and the dignity with which the equity court of New Jersey is looked upon through the entire English-speaking world.
I think it was Judge Fake, who was traveling in Canada and bumped into a - I don't know whether they call them a justice, judge or what, but he was one of the high judicial officers of Canada - he took Judge Fake into his library and there showed him an entire set of New Jersey Equity Reports. Now, I think that in itself speaks for the merit of our system. I am a member of a different system and I honestly think what New Jersey has is much better. I can use an example.
I think we all recognize that men are human and that some men like to try criminal cases, some judges like to try civil cases. Other judges, maybe with more tender feelings, hate to send people to jail. We have, I think, in the United States District Court of New Jersey one of the finest judges I've ever met. I have a very high regard for him, Judge Forman. He very frankly came to me, in a sort of joking fashion, but it did show his feeling inside - the Judge sentenced a man and I had shortly before been sworn in; he doesn't like to sentence people - and he came to me and said, "Tom, you try all of my criminal cases for me and I'll try all your patent cases for you." Now, doesn't that show, gentlemen, that the law, the same as everything else, is a specialty?
I have admiralty lawyers come into my court and argue admiralty law that the average county lawyer wouldn't know a thing about. Likewise you have some of the top labor lawyers who come in and start to argue labor relations cases and portal-to-portal pay suits that the average lawyer doesn't know anything about.
While the rest of the country is moving in that direction, I honestly feel that to go away from the specialty field would be a step in the wrong direction.
I might say this: I am somewhat apologetic for our appearance here today. We had a large committee. I may say we fought like the deuce. You can see I lost my argument on the appellate, I was outvoted ten to two on the appellate idea, but that's the way we worked. I might say that at the time we proposed coming here all of the members stated that they would be here to lend their support or their efforts to our ideas. However, gentlemen, something has happened in between and I think it's only fair that you know it.
The first thing that happened was the public story to the effect that this Committee had made up its mind. Of course, then some of our members said, "What's the use of us coming up?" Secondly, it has been stated and rumored, as we call it "by the grapevine," among the members of the Camden Bar that it didn't make much difference what the members of the Camden Bar thought, and
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