No Order in the Court

In Connecticut's municipal courts, the scales of justice teetered crazily. With two complete sets of judges on the job--those appointed by the last Republican regime and a new batch named by Democratic Governor Chester Bowles--the state had exactly twice as many judges as it could use.

In New London, Democrats set up their own court and dismissed every case on the docket an hour before Republican Judge Louis C. Wool convened his court. Rival judges in Norwalk struck a rickety compromise--Republicans judged the even-numbered cases, Democrats the odd. Six habitual drunkards, up for sentencing in Waterbury, explained their presence: We were celebrating the appointment of the Democratic judges." Ten days," snapped Republican Judge Charles R. Summa.

The battle of the courts was just another phase of New Dealer Chester Bowles's continuing war with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. A fortnight ago Bowles adjourned the legislature by proclamation, under a 131-year-old law never used before, to get the House out of his way. Then he appointed 129 judges and deputies to replace Republicans whose two-year terms were about to expire.

By last week, opposing judges had reached a shaky truce: they would keep courts functioning until the state Supreme Court untangled the mess. Said one judge uneasily: "The court may find that neither set of judges may serve."

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