Show Ei v G f It 0 t tO ta O a 11 ji p 0 p JD k ki kyI 0 i yI iT i T rEI RI fl of r j 1 j 7 HAT T goes on behind the locked doors of or the jury jUl room How lIow do twelve men sitting In Judgment of ot evidence on which rests time the fate of ot a n human being beine d e o p II o 0 r l t themselves LI Ln Lawyers LIers ers and ju judges cant can't tell you rou because they arc are barred from jury service No one Is supposed suppose to know but the jurors In nut But Information leaks teaks out and In Inmany Inmany many cases case eavesdroppers have hJ over over- overheard overheard heard the entire proceedings In sup sup- supposedly supposedly sealed sead jur jury rooms Recently a n jur Jury was deciding the thc fate of or a n InU murderer nJ The Thc case had nt- nt attracted at attracted t national attention All through the night and on Into the morning the jury remained out When the twelve men rnea finally filed lied out of ot the stuffy room with their t verdI t they were amazed to see morning newspapers lerS printed severn several I hours earlier carrying news ot of the verdict the they were about to an- an announce an announce It was Guilty and the then n newspapers mid Auld Guilty The only part purt of the plO proceedings s the papers lacked was tie the penalty Investigation lar lat r revealed rc the method b by which tie newspapers thus had scooped the time Jury ur Itself A re- re reporter reporter porter using a physicians physician's stethoscope to a pipe connecting with n a steam radiator In n the tile Jury room had 1 teen een able to overhear l practically ev- ev everything ev everything said In the room above De- De Decision Decision De Decision as to the time guilt gulp of ot the defend defend- defendant defendant ant had been arrived ed nt at by the jury just In time to allow v the reporter to Inform hl lila his paper before the presses f started rolling for the final edition elUtion In three more more- irs L the jury had fixed the penalty bet the th big news already was out out The secrecy that envelops the de- de de debates hates bates held within the frequently hid hid- hideous hid hideous Ous dirty smoky jury room has hag n a fascination for almost any Ima Imagination lna- lna tion Uon says fays the New York Times Just what brought the decision In such l a case What were the facts that tipped the scales scales- In favor or of ot a n defend defend- defendant defendant ant whom all the world thought guilty i T Ten en eu judges themselves are curious about the workings s of ot the the jurys jury's minds for for It Is of many minds Id like to hear those fellows de- de deliberate deliberate de deliberate liberate once said a n judge who had barged countless juries You can cnn your our honor spoke up tip n a acourt acourt court attendant Theres a crack In Inthe inthe Inthe the wall where we often listen to em Ill I'll t you there Sor Somewhat Incredulous the judge fol- fol followed lowe lowed Ills his guide guide- The crevice was found lIe He placed his Ills ear to It Loud voices Issued forth What makes oa 01 believe that Its not You I 1 ho pol I You I Who said so rhe The rhe judge e Well what does he know about It the old fossil I think I have head lica-d IJ ad enough h said hIs honor removing Ills his ear car from the which opening which by the way was sealed scaled up soon after atter On how liow slim a thread the life of ot aman a man roan hangs bangs only those know who have h Ent at around the table In the seal sealed ell chamber The slightest circumstance may save a man from trow cr or condemn him to prison yes res and even eyen the chair The weight of another human beings being's rests heavily on the Hie shoulders d ders lers rs of or those who have It In their power to make or break It It They grasp at nt any favoring fa evidence Not long ago In a case tried In the CrImInal court of New York some men were accused of ot having thrown n walter waiter out of a hotel window The strongest witness for the plaintiff was vas wasn wasa n woman who testified that she had I seen the act committed from her room window v at a distance of ot about feet The Jury had been out for hours They seemed hopelessly deadlocked Half Halt of ot the men were unwilling to believe that the woman could have seen so far the tho remainder were dis- dis disposed disposed dis disposed posed to accept her testimony The dinner hour came and the controversy sy was temp temporarily brought to an end endi When the court attendants saw the I guarded jurymen return from their I evening e meal they sighed e expecting nn an night all session The twelve e returned to tIle the jury room The night was vas hot and sultry LIke caged animals they paced back and forth snarling and snapping for tor they wanted to get home One man stepped to the the open window for a breath of ot air nil BrI Bright ht lights were shining shin shin- shinIng shining ing In a printing establishment more than two blocks away Every move move- movement movement ment Leut of ot the typesetters was plainly visible Here lIere you fellows fellow look I Ills companions crowded around him himIn In less than half halt an hour the tile Jury was as of one mind Anyone Any one familiar with juries and jury duty will tell you that with rare ex exceptions the men servIng In crIminal cases are tremendously con con- conscIous conscious conscious of their responsibility There Is s a genuine effort to be fair tall to quote a man who has served In both crim crIm- crImInal criminal inal and civil cases The Juror In a Criminal court feels the gravity of the situation Not so however the theone theone theone one In a n civil court In the civil case his human lUman qualities enter Into play play- ploy he Is pro to be Le swayed by prejudice Regarding the tho seriousness with which the juror takes his hl responsibility responsibility ity when he Is called on to Judge be- be between be between tween hveen right and wrong the well known well example can be cited of ot a n dozen WhO went out to determine the guilt or Innocence of ot a n youth accused of grand larceny They began to talk the mat mat- matter matter matter ter over before the tir guard had faIrly closed and locked the door They weighed what the lawyers wad nail said they spoke of ot the cast In the defend defend- defendant's defendant's ants ant's eye they removed their coats and as their conversation became more heated their collars They puffed great reat clouds of blue smoke Into the dense atmosphere After Arter four hours they were still talking Lets take a vote ote at last spoke up a n self constituted leader No ono ona had thought of ot that before before- before I they were all nil novices at nt criminal jury dut duty Every mothers mothers mothers son of them wrote guilty on the page that he themI I tore from his note book I 1 Gentlemen of or the jury fall Into certain certain certain tain distinct types The rhe most amus amus- amusing amus ing Ine if Jf them Is the one who In the vernacular of the courtroom Is called the lIe He Is a n very small person nt at home and In his place or of business no one t to him It Is when he gets Inside of ot a n jury room that he lie has lias his Ills Innings I was the guy that decided that case he lie tells his wife when he goes home You should have heard beard me talk It over with the tir Judge afterward I said sald to him and he agreed with me Some peewees even enn bring their wives wl to the courthouse so o that those ladles ladies can behold them ni ns they r majestically Into the box with the oJ al o of ot n a toreador who Is about to confront the bull Then there Is the Jury lawyer the theman theman theman man from the business world who In his college days took a course In law lie remembers just enough of ot mock Black Blackstone Black stono stone to be convinced that he knows more of ot the legal aspect of ot the trial than the lawyers lawyer and sets forth hIs knowledge In a lengthy oration Many Jany a time It Is the member with witha a prejudice who forms torms the stumbling block In the way of ot a peaceful settle settle- settlement settlement settlement ment perhaps his prejudice Is religious re- re religious re religious perhaps racial Last but not least there is the naturally stubborn the man man the bugbear ot of every jury In civil suits one of the tho difficult problems that confront jurors Is the awarding of Just compensation In personal per per- personal Injury cases Here prejudices ot of all kinds enter Many are aro th the trIcks the tho gentlemen of the Jury play playon playon playon on one another In the settling of these disputes On one occasion a woman sued a n trucking company TIer Her Injury was slight and was largely due duo to her own carelessness most of ot the jury felt Eleven voted to give ITC her the twelfth held out for tor 1000 Lets compromise spoken spoke n a man having Initiative Everyone Every one ot of us u will write down the sum we thInk should be given her Well We'll total the figures and divide by twelve They agreed Much to the surprise of ot ithe the twelfth man the answer was I 9 dont don't believe It has occurred to him that I put down zero the speaker later Inter whispered to his companions Justice and fair play are on the whole the rule of ot the game gam says a business man who has hns served on seven se jurIes Several times I have heard It discussed how a large verdict could I Ibe be rendered rendered with the probable chance that the court would permit It to stand I and not set It aside A well man who depends on his health and strength to make his living tor for himself and fatally family which Is the position positron of ot nIne out of ten jurors can cannot cot measure In his own mind the amount of ot damages that would compensate for the loss of such health A man was run Into by a n motor motorcar motorcar motorcar car that was wara driven en without proper regard for tor the rights of ot pedestrIans I lie was vas Injured so that ho Ile could not notI I do tiny any hard labor that required him to to be on oa his feet The evIdence seemed conclusive e as to the Injury I lIe Ill was a n naturalized citizen One of his own 0 race was on the Jury The Tho foreman asked this Juror what ho I thought was fair tall under the circum circum- circumstances circumstances stances and the juror answered His Illi lawyer lawer will want at least 2500 It has probably cost the man about 2 2 thus far for the loss of time and for tor expenses e If It he lie had hall In cash be ie could buy a n little business on f which he and his Jils wife could support I themselves So I 1 should say a n verdict ot of would be bo fair The jury I awarded him 1 |