Excerpt from Annual Report of the Board of City Magistrates of the City of New York (First Division) For the Year Ending December 31, 1911

For many years prominent citizens have been urging the use of the summons as against the warrant or arrest without warrant. Many otherwise well-informed people, including those connected with the Police Department, have, until now, insisted that the summons would not work well. They said a great number of those summoned would refuse to obey the process. I am glad to state that out of five thousand summonses issued by policemen from the book they carry with them, only three have been reported at this office as having failed to appear at Court as directed; two of whom appeared the next day and ofiered excuses, and for the remaining one a warrant was issued. Before the present Act distinctly provided for the use of the summons, it was customary in these Courts to issue irregularly and without count or system a great number of these processes. They were then kept in the Courts in loose sheaves. Now, there are two forms of summonses, both kept in book form, serially num bered, namely, the books carried by the police. And those kept in the Courts, so that every summons issued is accounted for. Under the for mer loose method, there is no doubt in my mind that the process was abused for the purpose of collecting debts and forcing business settle ments. It was prophesied, if we legalized the summons in its present form, there would be a great deal more summonses issued than under the former system. On the contrary, it is estimated that under the for mer method were issued, as against last year. Of this number, were issued from the Domestic Relations Court, mostly against husbands for non-support of their families. As to the falling off in arrests, the largest number was for trivial offenses. The volume of felonies, as will be seen from a survey of the above, is about the same.

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