Show or orn J junr R tile tho result of ilia alio wharton trial at anil and of tho the tweed trial at new newyork york has again arain raised the quest question kon the rule of requiring unanimity in juries should hould i not hot bo be abandoned and am tho the principle princile a of our elec ti 0 system liy by which a majority decilis decil cs should not be adopted in in courts la in tho the marten hirton case it is understood tint that thir jury stood el lit for or conviction and four our for bior acquittal t in the tha tweed casa several rate ments have been published as to 0 o the S i tion of the jury though probably liro bably fb bat t of mr tremain is alic correct jac that there were seven for conviction and ave fire for acquittal in both instances 43 it is is the opinion of fair minded men that hat the verdict of a majority of these juries would have bavo been strictly just and ana probably such would be the result in the majority ot of tho dues cases of disagreement of juries jaries although ifancy if any change chance were to be kiado in abid direction it might bo be safer moro more in accordance accepted principles to provide that there should lc 0 no ile verdict of conTi citon unless to by two thirds or even eta three of a jury sitting in a criminal criminal I 1 case hut but if we look 1001 at juries is 33 we generally find them in our courts it will be found we think that the real trouble i is not in this matter of disagreement sometimes it happens that thai the ono or twohy standout stand out aru aro richt land and the he ri rest areng in short our juries are not U up p sto to t the h standard that they should be according to mr Tre ninin this thia was notoriously DO the case in the tweed jury of the one hundred men bomin nominally illy summoned on tho the panel only twenty one appeared appears A and it was afterward dib that the absentees comprising men of a higher character than those from froin whom the selection was made had bad never ken been summoned at all here there was wag downright corruption among officials ficiala of but even w here thatis tint is not the case well known causes havo have long been worling a deterioration in our juries particularly in large cimics we havo have heretofore out hat ono or of the most important of these la 1 the excessive ta length of time I 1 which j i a is 13 to serve serro no fiord cu izan expects to to make money by sitting ati ll 11 on a jury or even to be his time lime but lew can afford the heavy sacrifice involved in their detention irom frow business during the time for for vi chich aich jurors must serve as for instance for three criminal crimi ual terms in suffolk county hence excuses aro are the order of the llie jay day and too mail many men get on the juries whose time is worth noth ing so long lone as that is n the case MS an tal especially crac ally if tho the state stale of things should continue to grow woric il be ba pf af little mad avail to change the rule of una nimit yi t what we ewt ia to maiac abo character c r of our oar juries an and devery every proposition bearing upon that lint should bi carefully considered boun boston jokull jou nal |