twelve districts, consisting of three or more judicial circuits, and that an intermediate Court of Appeals be provided for each district, to be presided over by the judges of the Superior Courts of the circuits which are embraced within the district; such courts to be held at some place within the district, and two judges to be a quorum of such court; the clerk of the Superior Court of the county and the sheriff of the county in which such court is held to be ex-officio clerk and sheriff respectively of such court. The judges are to receive no further compensation for this service, and the clerk and sheriff are to be paid for their services from the costs required to be paid in taking cases to such courts. The traveling and other expenses of the judges of such intermediate courts are to be paid out of the State treasury in cases where the courts are held at other places than the residence of the judges. The courts are to have jurisdiction on writ of error from the Superior and City courts of all cases that originate in the Justice's court, the Recorder's court, and all civil cases where the verdict is less than $500, except in those cases where exclusive jurisdiction is vested in the Superior Court, and in all misdemeanor cases where the punishment inflicted does not exceed a fine of $500 or the imprisonment does not exceed six months.

This plan has been suggested by Honorable Alexander A. Lawrence, of Savannah, who has for years taken an active interest in all matters relating to the perfection of the judicial system, and a Constitutional amendment carrying this plan into effect will be introduced by him at the next meeting of the General Assembly of this State. If these intermediate Courts of Appeal are established they will relieve the Court of Appeals of a large mass of its present business, which can be disposed of by such intermediate Courts of Appeal without imposing very great additional labor upon the judges of the Superior Courts in this State. This plan should meet with the hearty co-operation of the bar, and the writer desires to say that he is in hearty accord with the plan and believes that upon reflection and consideration all of the judges of the Superior Courts of this State will be ready to lend their co

operation and labor in this worthy cause if the Constitutional amendment should be adopted.

The bar and a great many of the people have been impressed for years with the fact that the salaries paid the judges in this State are far from adequate. This inadequacy of salary has been remedied in eight circuits of this State, so far as the judges of the Superior Courts are concerned, but a due regard for the interest of the public, as well as for the interest of the incumbents of the judicial office, absolutely demands that the compensation paid the judges in this State should be increased. The writer is informed that to this end a bill will be introduced into the next General Assembly providing for a Constitutional amendment increasing the salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to $6,000 each, and the salary of the judges of the Superior Courts to $4,000 each; the Constitutional amendment if adopted to take effect immediately upon the proclamation of the Governor declaring its operation, and the increases in salary thus provided to apply to the incumbents then in office. It is to be hoped that this Association and the entire bar of the State will lend their hearty co-operation in an effort to bring about this change in the law.

A reading of the report of the committee on jurisprudence, law reform, and procedure which brought into existence the permanent commission of the Association and the resolution passed which provided for such commission will show that the results which were hoped for when such commission was created are far from yet being accomplished, although the commission has been in existence for seven years. We should not, however, be discouraged, for while we have not accomplished all, we have been instrumental in accomplishing a great deal, and it may be that the further continuance of the commission would be wise, but this is a matter for the Association to deal with.*

Respectfully submitted,

ANDREW J. COBB, Chairman.

*For the remarks of the Chairman in submitting the report of the Commission, see pages 28-38.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL

ETHICS AND GRIEVANCES.

To the Georgia Bar Association:

The Committee on Legal Ethics and Grievances respectfully reports:

1. Three complaints have been filed with your Committee against attorneys of this State; two of these being against attorneys who are not members of this Association and one against a member of the Association. The first of these complaints was filed on the 9th of May, this year, the other two were filed on the 10th and 17th days of May. Immediately upon receipt of the first complaint the chairman called a meeting of the Committee. Mr. W. H. Griffin died on the 12th day of April, 1917, and Mr. Henry R. Goetchius, another member of the Committee, could not attend the meeting because he had to be present at a meeting of the board of trustees of the Georgia Normal and Industrial College at Milledgeville, and the other two members of the Committee had professional appointments which conflicted. The Committee, therefore, has not had an opportunity to consider and report upon the merits of the complaints lodged with it.

2. The Committee is without authority to consider any of the complaints filed with it except that which alleges unprofessional conduct on the part of a member of this Association. Its powers are defined by paragraph 6 of Article 7 of the By-Laws of the Association, which provides:

"A Committee on Legal Ethics and Grievances, who shall be charged with the duty of considering and reporting upon matters relating to the ethics of the profession, and of taking such action as the Association may direct, in case of departure from these principles by any member of this Association and of hearing all complaints which may be made in matters affecting the interest of the legal profession or the professional conduct of any member of this Association or the

administration of justice, and reporting the same to the Association, with such recommendation as they may deem advisable. Said Committee shall, on behalf of the Association, institute and carry on such proceedings against such offenders, and to such extent as the Association may order, the cost of such proceedings to be paid by the Executive Committee out of the funds of the Association."

It will be noted that it is not the duty of this Committee to investigate and report upon the conduct of any attorney unless he be a member of this Association.

It is respectfully suggested that the authority of the Committee on Legal Ethics and Grievances should be so enlarged as to make it the duty of the Committee to investigate and report upon complaints which may be made against any member of the Bar of Georgia, whether the attorney be a member of this Association or not, when such attorney is charged with conduct prohibited by law or violative of his sworn duty as an attorney. If the Committee is not so empowered, it is clear that the Association would only partially discharge its duty to the public. Why should members of the profession who are not members of the Association be permitted by this Association to offend against the laws of the State and not be called to account by the Association? Would not the Association thus in effect protect unworthy practitioners by a failure to expose such lawyers? Why should the Association be content with disciplining members of the Association when the public has no adequate means of knowing whether a member of the bar of the State is a member of this Association? Such attitude on the part of the Association would seem to be a failure to discharge the duty devolving upon it to uphold the honor of the profession. Again, if it be not the duty of this Association to consider just complaints lodged against non-members, upon whom does the duty devolve? Would not the local bar associations be justified in taking the same view of unprofessional conduct committed by non-members of their associations? Even if this were not the result of the precedent established by this Association, it is

further respectfully suggested that all such proceedings against members of the legal profession should be impersonal. This is true for every reason, and it can scarcely be questioned that a proceeding taken in the name of the Georgia Bar Association would be more effective and less calculated to cause personal issues to be raised than proceedings taken in the name of local associations or by members of this Association in their individual capacities. For these reasons, it is recommended that Section 6 of Article 7 be so amended as to grant authority to the Committee on Legal Ethics and Grievances to consider complaints made against any member of the Bar of the State and to report its findings to this Association for direction. A slight change in Section 6 of the By-Laws would give this authority. If the words "this Association" in line eight of Section 6 of Article 7 be stricken out and in lieu thereof the words "The Georgia Bar" are inserted, such authority would be thus granted. It is, therefore, respectfully suggested that Section 6 of Article 7 of the By-Laws of the Association be amended by striking out the words "this Association" in line eight of Section 6 as printed on page 383 of the report of the Thirty-Third Annual Session of the Georgia Bar Association and inserting in lieu of said words the words "the Georgia Bar," so that when said section of said article is so amended the same shall read as follows:

"A Committee on Legal Ethics and Grievances, who shall be charged with the duty of considering and reporting upon matters relating to the ethics of the profession, and of taking such action as the Association may direct, in case of departure from these principles by any member of this Association and of hearing all complaints which may be made in matters affecting the interest of the legal profession or the professional conduct of any member of the Georgia Bar or the administration of justice, and reporting the same to the Association, with such recommendations as they may deem advisable. Said Committee shall, on behalf of the Association, institute and carry on such proceedings against such offenders,