Western Reserve chronicle and weekly transcript of the times. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1854-1855, 1855-01-24
Trial by JUry'

'IE'' - N'
vantage, aud in niling his subj Ct, h,
brought /; 20 bear with cclunlenIub g bold
moss aud dlrec'acss upon The recent dar
ing arraignment If Theodore T. ker
now Of Wendcll Phillips, also, } an,
all conc, rEed therein, from Judge Curti
down 10 Benjamin +. ~iIaile,t. L.ber !
Of speech IS no, yet a crime in tie oil,
Bay State, nor is the right to dannunc,
Il horribly wicked enactment 10 be wrest
cd away by jIiciI ~usurpaticn. Aft-l
: giving a lucid account Of the origin an,
progress of TIE jury trial in England
aud the glorious struggles whereby the
Jurors are in ali cases allow d TO iudg,
of the law as we'll IS the fact, MIR. Hale
concluded as colloNs:
The trainers Of The Federal CJnS,itu-
ton made provision to secure to the ac-
rused a speedy tIil by an impartial jury.
The Supreme C5url soon after decided
that JurIcs had Il right 10 ju ige of th,
law as well as OF the fact. Chancellor
Kent, Of New York, gave a similar de-
cision the Supreme Court OF Nassa-
chusetts has decided the sane. 1t was
the common law in New Hampshire, in
Vermont, and in Maine aud it may b
said, il there l. any doctrine in law
which was scti!ei, it was this. But
there has Il change come over us, and he
proposed to speak of it. fle should speak
the truth, and was not here TO conpIi-
mcnt any ONE.
The frs, Infringement Of this right he
said, was made at the time the public
mind was first agitated in regard to the
right or lawiulnrss of inilicting ilc death
penalty for murder. The courts saw The
tendency in the public mind which led
Jurors 10 hesitate before rendering a YER.
dict winch involved the life of the GRIM
inal, remedying the evil, by propounding
the question TO every juryman, whether
he had such opinions respecting capital
punishments would preclude his finding a
verdict, if the case was proved /; and
if he had, the juror was was set aside.
By and by the license law came up,
and every body said it was a great thing
10 put down the rumscilerS and shut up
the rumshopS. No matter if the trial
BY Jury does 20 with them. The lu'lges
saw the trouble, and proposed 4 question
in effect said, we Will a,lpw no
man 10 go on the jury who will not
promise 10 give such Il verdict a We die
tate; and then began that infamous course
bv which, before a freeman who was re-
to st in q case between the ate
and his i,llowmau could take his place,
mus b. questioned, and if his answer
IS not saliSf Glory 10 the court, Is told
stand aside. The conviction Of the
rum->clIers he thought was purchased at
too great a price, "hen, &c obtain IL, the
OF jary T.,i was srrrcEde.'d. 1t
Vas stIirken down by arbitrary judg :.
b. Cause il was connected with an unpup-
llar cause.
Here was a precedent. and bai Judges
IRE icuacious of pr,cedeut>. III aboli-
iuuisis came up neat, and aquestioH was
for tie jurors in SUch eases
whether they had doubts or ~scrnples as
o the consiilu;icnaIny of the Fugitive
ave Law, which would prevent their
Il verdict Of guilty, and if they
rad, they were ST aside. = greater
insult, the speaker said, WAS never Of
cred to a Massac' usct:s man, ard thought
o have been resisted on lie S2o; Ap-
He Ms always Il Fcace man,
ut If ever he should be placed in such d
he should say 10 the Judge,
The question is an Insult. and ! will re-
il in no other manner; my coming
ere in obedience to the law does not au-
lorize you TO insult me. II this was
yer tried here, let every citizen Of
Massachusetts, treat the insult as i, de-
rrves. [Appluus".
Perhaps the judges would commit for
oniempt of court : COOL He should
Ike 10 be imprisoned on such II charge ,
5 that, as that would hasten ihi> contro-
ersy, and settle it right. We have !
eed Of all the nerve and blood and spirit =,
.hich have come down to us from our
.thers. What a gool thing it would f.,
ave been for the British government, if :
It y could have got Il grand jury to have a.,
Iund a bill of indictment against James !
lis aud Samuel Adams for making a :
,eech in Fanneuil Hall! Applause. !
hey tried it, but could not ger il bill. ;
Ii We have a right of trial by jury, :
is the same right brought to this country =
7 our fathers. Mr.. Hale then spike of :
e disregard of this right by the Union =
wing measures of 1850, by which, .
bile the jury trial was reserved to u !
rise, in Massachusetts, claimed by a !
,ulherner, it is sacrificed 50 far as il :
lJteS to the colOrcd man, though he be .
husband and father. lie spoke of this
ght being infringed in Boston, in sight il
d under the shadow Of Bunker Hill, ii
mere, he said, a judge had sat and C
in the dust this sacred perogative ii
freemen. A voice-'Shame!" a
.'plausr. No. not shame. The judges
| it because they knew the people would
ar it! Shame Oil the people! Loud L
oil
This question, he said, hal not been 1T
10 the Supreme Court. We all m
NV what the decision will BE- if il 60 ia
&c. If Theodore Parker is found to
of The charge now pending against W
e, and the Judge charges The jury IN
Z they are only to find the fact thai be vi
speak in Fancuii fall, leaving the =
or the Court, this ruling will be
nd all right. It a Southern fiilibus.er
lricI in New Orleans, AMI acquitted :,
he charge OF the judge, that the jury Pal
10 Judge both law and fact, and the Lo,
E is c ,rfied to ihc Supreme Court, that -
ug wil De iound right.
ieior,u Is wanre.i, and that Is 10. with
Court. |; is with lie peoplr. The -
il Is wIh the people. There is not a D
It, dear and ineslImable to The citizen, Noa
oh is not connected with the pF,serva- the
OF this right. This Remedy is with thTs
people. Let every man Sctti, in his his
mind what is his own right and pre- n1io
tive and duy, and The right and pc. Joy
tive and duty of every c%iIizrn; and E.C
IL the attempt Is male to impose re- Der;
on those rights, as they have faith,