Page 2 THE BATTALION FRIDAY, OCT. 24, 1975 Judges agree Part 4 of 9 Change needed New charter merges courts By JACK HODGES Battalion Staff Writer 85th Dist. Court Judge W. C. Davis said Thursday he favors the merging of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals as proposed in the upcom ing constitutional revision election Nov. 4. “But we sometimes handle both cases and there should not be much trouble if there is a change,” Davis said. Davis said that the proposed revi sion should speed up the court sys tem and reduce the case load be cause of the combination. “It seems to me, when there is a person’s life on the line and there are 14 courts for civil appeals and only one for criminal appeals, there should be a change, Davis said. “If there is an overloading of cases in a particular court district then the state Supreme Court could assign judges from another court district to relieve the stress, Davis said. Associated Press! AUSTIN, Tex. — Texas needs judicial reform so desperately that many top officials support the new constitution principally because of its simplified judiciary article. But included among the critics of the article are a few heavyweights, including the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, John F. Onion Jr. Proposal Two on the constitution revision ballot, if passed, will com bine the Texas Supreme Court with the Court of Criminal Appeals. The two courts then would become the Texas Supreme Court with one chief justice and eight other jus tices, with not fewer than five in session at any time. There are a lot of districts that have small caseloads and help from those districts could benefit others, he added. Special News Analysis Series The change would rename the chief justice of the Supreme Court to the Chief Justice of Texas. “I think Briscoe’s stand against the proposals came out a little late but he has his opinion and I don t want to argue with others who come out against the proposals,” Davis said. The Courts of Civil Appeals would no longer be constitutionally restricted to review only civil cases if the proposal passes. There is a controversy that the two courts have specialized in either civil or criminal matters. Brazos County Judge Bill Vance said he is also for the merging of the two courts also and viewed the proposal much the same as Davis. “It creates a unified court system and will help alleviate case over loads, ’ Vance said. The court sys tem would be under the Supreme Court of Texas which would have the final say on criminal and civil cases, he added. Reform is needed, says Onion, but this article fails to provide it. Texas Supreme Court Chief Jus tice Joe Greenhill, however, says it does. How can a voter make up his mind when the state’s top two judges differ? Especially when they use the same language to jus tify their positions? Here is Onion: “It’s not necessar ily the punishment but the swift ness and certainty of punishment, I believe, that deters crime. What good are speedy trials if we don’t have speedy appeals?” Here is Greenhill: “Swiftness of trial and punishment is the most TAues of TMe GiGAesM- fSTRAmee how it ~ LOOKS UKO IT ^ WAS SHOT. fflBDE Miff! THE K.K. COULSfU'T put A DenjT im rr! PROBABLY HAPPerueD LJHOfU IT FELL. WHEOJ THEY GOT CRAIG bOUm HE SP\D A LITTLE. BEAR 10J A PA03CHO WALKED UP THE TOWER AdJD SHOT IT bOWM fuH-ROH AfOD SAMTA CLAUSE DIVE-BOfTBED IT WITH PResenlTS... CRAIG'S STILL SHOOK^ UP! IT PROBABLY JUST SLIPPED OFF BY ACCIDCfUT T r ti'jtmiwm* CAMERA*-5LEf\JE FADES TOj BLACK AND OUT. Che Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Edito rial policy is determined by the editor. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods. September through May, and once a week during summer school. Mail subscriptions are $5.00 per semester; $9.50 per school year; $10.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, LETTERS POLICY Texas 77843. Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verifica tion. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatched credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published, herein. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein are also reserved. Copyright (g) 1975, The Battalion. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Bob G. Rogers, Chairman; Dr. Gary Halter; Dr. John Hanna; Roger P. Miller; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jeff Dunn, Tom Dawsey and Jerri Ward. Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper. MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Editor James Breedlove Assistant Editor Roxie Hearn Production Manager T. C. Gallucci City Editor Steve Gray Campus Editor Sandy Russo Sports Editor.. Tony Gallucci Photography Director jack Holm RAY B0MNSKIE BODY SHOP 409 Burnett Bryan 823-7219 FREE ESTIMATES! IVE DO INSURANCE P** ft,-~ ™v- '• -• " * *i y a * Jr Xk * W* WY „ 1101 Tttxas Sue AuKema at Dena’s Hair Fashion specializes in layer cutting frosting & Men’s & Women’s Hair Styling. 106 Carson 822-6034 . 7.7