Show TRIALS BY JURY XURY trial by jury was instituted as a safeguard and protection against injustice tu to those who are accused and tried for offenses either criminal or civil in times pasta past defend defendant aut felt a pride in the fact and a great degree of safety ety in being tried by a jury of hie his peers he felt satisfied that justice would be done him whether the investigation resulted in liis his conviction or acquittal but for a number of years the jury system has fallen into disrepute and neither complainants nor defendants feel that that their cause is iq as safe now in a the hand of twelve men as I 1 it was formerly the ays teni tent has been abused and many persons have advocated its abolition this however we do not favor trial by jury is designed to pro eject tact persons against oppression hie like that which prevailed prior to the revolution in france in 1789 when the judges decided both law and facts this mis system is considered au u ea essential factor in free govern ment Lord jolin considered it ofas of great if not greater im im hortince porta por tince uce than representation among the tile features of tile present system is the exclusion sion I 1 from the jury box of persons Z who have read the newspaper accounts orsome of some fatal reland who may have thus formed some opinion of the guilt or ir innocence inocence of the tile defendant in the case when he is brought to trial now this practice we think is all wrong an and an injustice on general principles to the parties litigant it is true that after reading rea dinga a report fan occurrence which has bas been published in a public journal a man may and generally does form an all opinion concerning those interested the a opinion may inay be correct or it may be incorrect from the fact that perhaps he lie has read but y of the matter but this Veere i certainly kinly should not in our opinion disqualify him for a juror when he lie sits in judgment upon hie his fellow man who lias has been charged with some crime he lie will hear the whole matter the evidence pro and con will be laid before him and as a just man and true he lie will can canvass valls the e testimony odthe of the witnesses for both the complaint and defense and will deliberate with his fellow jurors before he forma forms a 9 final opinion and gives his verdict as to the guildor guilt guil tor or innocence of the accused A man who never or seldom reads is not supposed to be a profound thinker from the fact that ho lie can have but little to think of of im importance P ortance to other parts of the community if he is not a thinker 4 he ignot much mu ell of a reasoner rca and as a sequence lie would be unable to thoroughly and properly canvass evidence and give a just decision which would involve the rights ef of property or the liberty or life of ili his s fellow being behig the more a man leads reads judiciously the more information he acquires on subjects of general i inte reet t and the better he becomes qualified to fill positions of useful usefulness nem and responsibility whether ther aa asa a juror or in other capaci lipa lies in which he be may be required to ad act I 1 fence hence it id ia that we think and tte we a are r e not alone in our thoughts on this subject that the law which excludes persons from the jury box because they read newspapers and 4 form opinions is unjust aud and the practice partakes more of a farce VA than an anything yAin elec else and lias been C n ened by many persons of 0 good judgment and legal ability and band we are pleased to learn that the elie supreme court of the state of indiana decided not long since 1 that reading the account ofa of a crime crime and thereby forming an opinion ie is not a bar to a person serving as a juror in u the case cue whether it be a criminal or civil one we find too that this decision is in accor accordance danee with the judgment and sound sense seme of many upright people there arc are other features fea turca of the present jury system which seem defects among them is the rule requiring unanimity in the verdict of a jury in order to convict or acquit a defendant this require meat went i is called by some eminent jurists and they declare that it ought to be abali abolished hed among those who are of this opinion ion are Hal MUM lani author of middle middie ageg ages V cockburn author of memorials of ins his time the latter at gen gentleman fler thus speaks on this part of tile jury system I 1 believe the tile re requirement of unanimity absurd an and that whether a bare majority ought to be allowed to decide or not always requiring unanimity is nonsense experience lias has not in thel least dast diminished our scotch aversion to it lord tard somers published a work as long since as 1682 called a guide to english juries Jurie jurdeain ain in which ho he speaks of the origin of the number twelve constituting the jury tc t c his ili lordship says in analogy of late the jury is reduced to the number of twelve like agthe the prophets were twelve to foretell the truth the apostles twelve to preach the truth the discoverers twelve sent into canaan to seek and report the truth and the tile stones twelve that tho heavenly Hie rusa lem lein is built on other writers think it will win beim for any tiny great length of time hence to retain the rule requiring unanimity in making up verdicts some are iu in favor of abolishing it in in civil suits and retaining it in criminal case cases it is evident that a reformation is as much needed as it is loudly called for the memphis appeal in speak ing of the difficulty recently experienced in obtaining the tile necessary number of men who had not read and formed an opinion to try the defaulter M T polk polka at nub ville tenn bays says it is evident evident that that lie file jury tem can cabbe be improved by allowing intelligent telli tell cent igent readers of newspapers to ait sit on juries and by abolishing the requirements quire ments of unanimity and substituting the majority rule in civil eades and the tile three fourths rule in min criminal by abolishing exemption from jury duty of certain honest aud and in ins telli Kent igent classes classe of our citizens by raising tho tile standard of moral and intellectual tel qualification 05 jurors by ily proscribing prescribing perhaps a different mode of selection than by lot by creating additional safeguards to prevent tampering with tle the jury I 1 by I 1 providing for accurate copies pies of tie the evidence to be placed maced in t alie I 1 ie hands of hie the jury when hen they tiley retire something ought to be done and that speedily to correct tile present evils to expedite trials to lessen expense of suits to prevent bribery and defeat the ends of those whose chief aim is for filthy lucreta lu creto cheat anstice of her demands |