Show A VERY interesting STING CASE tin case of andrew petersen now on trial in the third district court is of great interest to this community the defendant is charged with illegal voting in in that belm beim being a polygamist or bia bigamist r and thus disqualified under the edmunds law he took the oath prescribed by the commissioners and voted at the D delegate elegate ele eie election c tion in november 1882 one une important point decided by judge hunter in this trial is tile the right of who believe in I 1 1 j jurors brors the tiie mormon doctrine of plural marriage to try a case of illegal voting when the ground of tile the charge is the polygamy or bigamy of the defendant efforts were made to exclude jurors who on examination admitted their belief in ill tile the of that doctrine but announced their readiness to convict for illegal voting it the evidence showed that the delen deien dant daut had broken the law challenges for fur cause on this question were properly overruled by the court for the section of the edmunds law a w which relates to ta the 1 C exclusion of jurors on accod account it of 1 belief in that doctrine 0 only y a applies plies piles to any prosecution for b bigamy am Y polygamy or unlawful cohabit tation under any statute of the united states this is not a prosecution for either of those of fences but for allega voting and therefore those jurors are not disqualified under the edmunds law judge hunter was right also apart arz from the question of law involved some people cannot understand how a juror can decide according to human law when he believes in the virtue of a divine law with which the tiie human la law w is in conflict but a juror swea swears rs to decide according to tile the law and the evidence not according to his opinions of the rightfulness or constitutionality of tit the law or its conflict with the revelations of god it is not his business to be governed by anything but the law relating to the case abd tile the evidence showing that the law has been violated the conflict between the human law and the divine law has nothing to do with ills his verdict and the responsibility is s between god and those who enacted the conflicting human law another point decided by judg judge hunter was that the new law passed by the legislature just adjourned which repeals the obnoxious provision in a former statute of the territory in regard to was in force from P the time it was llred filed in the ollice of the secretary therefore no C can an be used in reference to jurors but the matter of challenges must be decided by the court judge Ilar liar harkness kness for the def dei defence eliee eilee demurred to the introduction of oral testimony to prove that petersen Pc was guilty of contended that only proof of the defendants conviction for that offense offence was admissible ad isor for he soundly argued petersen on such testimony might be now convicted edof edos of illegal voting and in a subsequent trial be acquitted of the charge of polygamy anywhere and where would that place the arst first conviction the argument against this by assistant attorney varian arian V that it would render the edmunds law inoperative Was 46 power power ully weak 11 for lawand law and right should prevail even though the folly and cruden crudeness essof ess of a statute I 1 which people are denouncing as a failure should be thoroughly demonstrated Ju judge lunter hunter has his overruled the objection interposed by judge harkness for this case only and admitted the testimony behig being evidently a little in doubt as to the soundness of his rull ruling but fearing that the whole case would be lost unless lie he decided in this manner it was a delicate position to be placed in and in any other place but utah where any official olli cial elal who decides in a manner thought to be fa favorable to the majority is abused and maligned by t a small minority the question would we have no doubt have been decided differently the trial now proceeds and ought to be only t adduced in ina lna a frial for bi bigamy gamy or polygamy ly g is being received in a trial triai for illegal botin voting |