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The Green Bag
Part Three. From the standpoint of pure science, the treatment of Actions, or Judicial Jurisdiction and Procedure, is clearly a great step in advance of other works on the subject. The strength and beauty of the American system of jurisprudence is often ob scured by the treatment of parts only of what in reality is one whole, and the use in different jurisdictions of diverse names for what are but equivalents. In this work, all are shown as parts of one grand scheme of remedial justice. The close analogy or even identity of the rule of pleading at common law and under codes in equity, and even in criminal procedure, is made clear in a way to be of practical utility. The author's treatise on pleading (Andrews' Stephen's Pleading), of which he has brought out two editions, has placed him in the front rank as an authority on procedure, but not until he took advantage of the oppor tunity to display the whole system of procedure as an organized system was the real strength and beauty of the subject appreciable at its true value. The rules as to Parties have perhaps never been so clearly stated and ex plained by any author. The rationale of evidence appears clearer, the reason for forms of action is made apparent,— in fact it is plain on every page that a practical man is giving a practical treat ment of a practical subject for the prac tical purpose of everyday use in the business of practical lawyers; but it is always made manifest—and herein lies the beauty and skill of the author's system—that a reason dominates, a theory underlies and makes plain the meaning and application,—and all is supported by a wealth of citation. Of Criminal Law but a skeleton is given; but where else is there so brief and comprehensive an outline dis
played? It is made clear that these fundamentals apply to all crime. The theory of criminal legislation, the limits of it, the elements of criminal conduct, the apprehension and detention of per sons suspected, the accusation or presen tation, the pleading, presumption, and evidence, the mode of trial,—these are things difficult to get clearly in mind, and are just the things which the larger books, dealing with the details and minutiae of the various offenses, gen erally neglect. In this work for the first time we have well-nigh perfect co-ordination and perspective. Such is a wholly inadequate view of the general outline of this great institu tional treatise. The scheme of classifi cation would probably be regarded by theoretical jurists as its transcendent achievement, and in a sense this is true, for without it no such condensation with the completeness and clearness dis played would be possible. On the other hand, practical jurists, like the late Austin Abbott, would doubtless see in the condensed style and the exactness of the definitions and the definiteness of the specific rules to be found in all parts of the book, its chief merit. The practical lawyer who grasps the scheme of citation will be astonished at the wealth of cases it brings to his hand, cases which seem to have been selected and arranged with painstaking care, in order always to indicate the leading and ruling ones, yet with anno tated cases to go with them, coupled with illustrative cases of particular value. Such a scheme of citation cannot but prove a great saver of time to the prac tising lawyer as well as the student, once it is thoroughly understood. The greatness of this work is not in any one of these features but in the peculiar combination of all, whereby the author attains more closely than any
