Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-11-20 | Page 6 | Deadlocked Juries

J t Deadlocked Juries IP l I POSSIBLY there are some benighted countries countries countries coun- coun P pOSSIBLY tries that can can teach the he United States ii t thing or two about justice Mexico's jury system ni for instance gives far ar less opportunity u than does ours for guilty crooks to escape cs ape their dues Mexican an juries consist of f but nine persons and a majority vote decides decides decides de- de the verdict A l lone ne rec recalcitrant juror cannot deadlock a jury in Mexico as so frequently happens in American cases cases Neither is the tire state put putto putto putto to the expense of costly retrials where on one bullheaded juror pre prevents a decision There are inherent weaknesses about the jury system that will never be corrected because because because be be- cause the cure mi might ht prevent full justice to the defendants We never can get around the human element in trials trials the the fact that cunning lawyers can often twist a a. jury to their will But there are needed corrections that can be made without preventing justice to the accused One big division of reform is that of providing judges more power in giving instructors to jurors and of permitting juries to consider some of the important evi evidence dence that is frequently ruled out on pure te technicalities Then its it's wrong to allow one contrary juror to deadlock a case The American criminal system is sorely in need of some major operations When Great Britain and a host of countries have discovered better practices than o ours rs it is time that corrections are being m made d in the archaic justice-defeating justice American ways