1 Arrested in 1919 for the larceny, robbery, and murder of 1918 and the grand larceny of 1919; plead guilty to homicide on the murder; judge found second degree murder and sentenced him for life June 27, 1919. Other cases "nolled."

If we observe the operation of the system over a series of years its weaknesses become clearer. Through the industry and courtesy of George Koestle, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Identification, of the Division of Police, the figures on the dispositions of felony cases for years 1914-1920 inclusive are available in Table 2. The arrangement has been changed somewhat, and a number of adjustments made with the approval of Mr. Koestle, but otherwise the basic figures given are exactly as compiled by the Bureau.

TABLE 2.-DISPOSITION OF FELONY CASES, 1914-1920, FROM THE RECORDS OF THE DIVISION OF POLICE

1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920

1. Total number felony arrests 1,705 2,157 2,749 3,611 3,561 3,460 3,788 2. Total accounted for by ac

Glancing at Table 2 makes it apparent that the "crime wave" has not been created wholly by a "yellow press." It must be noted also that this table includes only the serious criminal cases (felonies), so that the table would be unaffected by temporary strictness or relaxation in dealing with offenses usually the subject of reform, such as drunkenness, gambling, and prostitution. The population of Cleveland increased 42 per cent.

from 1910 to 1920, yet arrests for serious crime since 1914 only have increased 122 per cent., cases bound over 77 per cent., and the number of cases in the Common Pleas Court over 100 per cent. The number which were actually found or which pleaded guilty had increased 79 per cent. in 1919, but in 1920 dropped to 23 per cent., the lowest figure since 1916.

It happens that the period covered furnishes an opportunity to demonstrate the ability of the criminal lawyer to find the weak spots in the system. For some time before 1914, and for several years thereafter, Cleveland justice tended toward "sentimentalism," expressed by an excessive use of the "bench parole" (probation), more fully considered in a succeeding chapter. Shortly after the entry of this country into the World War the attitude of the public changed, and with the advent of the "crime wave" shifted to the opposite extreme. Judges responded by cutting bench paroles from 25 per cent. of the sentences in 1914 to 7 per cent. in 1920.

This gradual shutting off of the judicial "parole" forced the criminal lawyer to look elsewhere for relief. The principal sources of such relief were: (a) "nolles" in the Municipal Court; (b) discharges at the preliminary examination in the Municipal Court; (c) "no bills" by the grand jury; (d) "nolles" in the Common Pleas Court; (e) trial and acquittal by juries. A glance at the figures shows that all these sources have been called upon. Although the number of felony dispositions in the Municipal Court increased only 84 per cent. from 1914 to 1920, the number of "nolles" in that court increased 140 per cent. and the number of discharges 101 per cent. The number of dispositions in the Common Pleas Court increased 106 per cent. in the same period, but the number of "no bills" increased 121 per cent., the number of "nolles" 506 per cent., and the number of trials and acquittals 600 per cent. The increasing tendency to keep cases away from the discretion of the court is more marked in the Common Pleas Court than in the Municipal Court, probably because the lower court had already been "worked" almost to the saturation point.

Apparently there is a kind of Gresham's law in the administration of criminal justice. Just as cheaper currency tends to drive out dearer, so the slacker agencies tend to oust the stricter of jurisdiction. Diagrams 3 and 4 show plainly this tendency.

The increasing severity of the courts is shown in Diagram 3, which gives the change in the percentage ratio of sentences executed to all sentences. All cases which reached the judge for disposition, by plea or conviction, are included. The curve of all cases sentenced, based on a percentage of all the cases disposed of by the court, shows the increasing tendency to keep cases away from the judge, chiefly by "nolling," trial and acquittal, and "no bill."

Diagram 3.-Comparison of severity in sentencing with decreasing tendency to bring cases to sentence. (Common Pleas Court, 1914-20)

Diagram 4 shows the same tendency in more specific form, the percentage of "bench paroles" of cases sentenced being compared with the

Per

Per cent cases bench paroled were of all cases sentenced

cent. Per cent.cases nolled were of all cases that were begun

Diagram 4.-Comparison of decline of "bench paroling" with increase of allowing "nolle prosequi"

percentage of cases "nolled" of all cases disposed of. The reciprocal action is clear.

How the system is "worked" for weak spots may also be seen in Tables 3 and 4 by comparing the dispositions and suspended sentences of Common Pleas cases obtained under the guidance of the most sophisticated criminal lawyers, with the results in other cases. For the purposes of these tables, criminal lawyers with political affiliations were chosen. A list of all lawyers having more than 10 cases each begun in 1919 was sent to a Cleveland lawyer thoroughly familiar with the local bar. This lawyer, without knowing the figures for any names in the list, marked the attorneys with political leanings and his judgment was accepted. The figures are not as significant as a selected list would show because the names chosen for political affiliations include several high-minded men who are not primarily criminal lawyers at all. The comparison does not necessarily throw discredit upon the lawyers selected: it does reveal a system which lends itself to manipulation. It is to be regretted that the absence of proper records prevents a similar comparison being made for the earlier stages of the cases in the Municipal Court.

TABLE 3.-DISPOSITIONS OF CASES OF 27 POLITICAL LAWYERS1 COMPARED WITH DISPOSITIONS OF ALL OTHER CASES BEGUN IN 1919 IN THE COMMON PLEAS COURT

1 1 Having more than 10 cases each among all cases begun in 1919 in the Common Pleas Court.