Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-01-24
Rights Of Jurors.

A II. H.. on
.-.s,s:.,,.a .,.,+ .xcsedss in usurpation any.
go .t,emnted in modern times,
-, :. ~ oasa Of Commonwealth
d. soa;d.a i 1915 which is the first
-..o-a :, Tho indicial history of
.r..,....s... 80 srr attennt to detract from
:, -, -. !, or;r,,pal cases TO Judge
=. Iii +be facts involved in their
-. 49, 80, 5;a MT extend so far as to
a.. .,o,,s, 60 TO do. This extremi-
..,,...;a,, - yvss left for the Legislature
os 1879 20 seek to accomplish. But, as we
shall show. the decision Of the Supreme Court
4 roe n rAsoard to the riqat Of the jury to
-. 49, Low and fact in criminal
oe'etiAine oOt- VIZ - 80
cases, was IN the lace Oh preceuen'9 "a 'neAi
own establishing, as well as against all legal
~ eatabl;sbad and well settled precedents on
:. -, ~ ro,,r.s of +bis and the
Su0l0l"' AsooAO - 49,
mother country 49,
Surely, the jurists and statesmen Oh looo'
who, as members of the Legislature Oh tna'
year, enacted the statute entrustlng the jury
not only with the power and rignt' put
duty in all causes committed TO then' OF
" deciding, at their discretion by general
verdict, both the fact and the ta'0 involved IN
the issue, or to ind special Veroac'' Oh .
general verdict" suoJectlns the jury 70 less
restrictions even than are eon'aiheu III 'no 9e'
of lS55.-these Legislators Of 1903, were they
na,v al;va vould think rather sliehtingly, to
80. ~ &c .hosa 81 1870
say ens AeAss' u sOiAe u 'A-O,s
J. - '"o o'se = -'-- = w. !. Zoo ~
=. - 60 :. ,,,os ~ f,llows
:: s's ss-s :. - ,;ts Ill doo;.;ons nrevious TO
,a1s.
mAs tho inrv have the yi0ht. and If re-
ouired by the prisoner, are bound to return
general verdict of guilty or not guilty. trey
mus 'sscessersfy aecae saen qass'sG Gs a 'aI
s.,,.sst;or ~ t5srs i NO node b. which their
opiaions upo,. questions of lac can be revised
By this Court or any other TRIBUNAL ~ FlcK-
erlng' P. 4so'
MARX TINS languages. - va. W.
OCCASION Oh the '0"o'e ooar' - st0o0' ai.U
p1essuene ever es'ao'i'neO
.nof0usniy uone mere ~ ia'ol y 'l'e Pii'S'
ZOE "niCn We are con'enue.
ae again. IN 1900 'ne opl,,tOr - 'He eIpie1-'
! Sours was osclarea y on'eA 1s'oe 'ila ~,
- Iollows' IN 'ne case u 'ne ooAi'ii0 " 9'i'n
vs. Aheeiano;
A an crlnlnal Eases, sIe uag "a az foot p r9i
10 render verdict i Of puiltv or not guilty upon
the s0hole matter, including all questions Of lao
and Of fact" 20 Pick. p. 2zz.
The above decisions are Of uniform purport
with all the decisions of the Courts, from the
earliest period of the judicial history Of Mas
BILE change d as before noticed) W as made in
Judicial construction, against jury rightO.-
But that change did not approach, in usurpa.
ton, that contemplated by the present Legis-
lature. Chief Justices Parsons, Parker, and
Shaw. and Justices Putnam, Wilde. Morton.
and Others. have announced over and over
again. as a settled principle of common
law. the right az well as mower Of the Jury to
determine the whole law and the whole fact.
in their verdict of guilty. or not guilty.
The first instance on record in the whole
history Of English jurisprudence. of any at
tempt thus to abridee the great right of iurv
trial. was in the caseof the iudicial murder
Of Aleernon sydney. in 1883. by the infa.
mons Chief Justice Jeffreys, who said to the
iury, . the point of law you are to take from
the Count, gentlemen" But this never was
law. for Parliament immediately set aside the
verdict. The next ATTEMPT in Tint direction
was in the celebrated treason trials in Eng
land, toward the close Of the last century. by
Lord Holt and Lord Mansfield.
In the case of the Dean of Asaph. in 1894.
the Court, nord Mansfeld) while concedipg
to the jury the po,oer to Judge of the law.
denied them the rioht and remanded them
back to their rooms the third time, and forced
them to render verdict of guilty." in ac-
cordance with that principle, against their
own opinion of the law. But Parliament in
that case, too, passed declaratory act setting
aside the verdict, thus establishing the law
on permanent basis, where it has ever since
remained undiEturbed, making the juries
Judges Of the law as well as the fact" in
all criminal prosecutions.
A like contest early arose in this country,
under the famous % Alien and Seditionu act
.t ro,,,r.. "a 49,. a;.;,..,-. s..;,.1
S'S, ~ uee.ueu' Al
the case Of Croswell, in 1908, in the State of
New York, the Judge charged the Jury ac
nord;ro 10 III. IofFro,,s a,,d Nfa~.e.ia .....-
. - - - : N~ ~~'''SAtSAeA SOAofA oS-