Annual Report of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (Volume 22) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book:: ""'! - " The hand oi -death has fallen heavily on this Association in the.jas"t -year; some of our greatest have gone, and thqse.jpfuis-'who are left must make strenuous efforts if we hope-ib'fill the gaps.: ' ' Under the By-Laws of the Association, it is made the duty of the President to deliver at the Annual Meeting an address which has particular reference to statutory changes of public interest. As there has been no session of the Legislature since the last meeting of the Association, I am relieved of that duty. We lawyers, however, are so accustomed to speaking on subjects which are assigned to us that it is rather embarrassing than helpful to be free to make choice of a subject. It has occurred to me that as there is so much discussion of State constitutions at the present time, and here in Pennsylvania, of the propriety of calling a convention to draft a new constitution for the State, it might be interesting to turn our thoughts to the consideration of some aspects of our State constitutional law, its development and present status, and to ascertain, if possible, whether there is any prospect of, or tendency towards, a revision of State constitutions along any line that is desirable. What I shall say here is not to be taken as expressing in all respects either my own conviction as to what is ideally perfect, or a belief on my part that it will be possible to secure the adoption of all the changes that I may suggest; but only as expressing my views as to some things that I believe to be desirable, and which have substantial public support. In considering such a subject it is well to bear in mind that the court decisions are neither the sole nor the best guide. We practitioners of the present day can hardly realize how slowly the courts acquired jurisdiction...