The Placer herald., 1857-10-10

eight times in ten not single member pre-
sents business of that character to be acted
upon; they look to the District Attorney and
to private citizens almost exclusively for
causes to investigate.
We believe it would be better if the mat
ter of finding indictments was left altogether
to the District Attorneys. 1t is their present
duty to draw the indictments that are found,
(not ono grand juryman in thousand being
qualified to produce an instrument of that
kind that would be free from flaws and the
additional responsibility and labor they would
have, would be in the taking Of testimony
for that purpose; and certainly the Attorney
would be better able to Judge of the sutfi-
cheney of evidence for conviction, than grand
jurors, whose pursuits do not make them
conversant with legal forms or the law Of
evidence.
At present, if an individual is charged
with and apprehended for crime, and the
evidence seems to warrant his detention. he
is incarcerated in prison until the convening
of the grand jury, by whom an indictment
may or may not be found. If none is found
the victim of the laws delay has the poor
satisfaction of knowing that months (per-
haps) Of time has been lost, and his reputa-
ton greatly injured. If bis case had been
placed in the hands Of the District Attorney
at first, with the same evidence as before the
grand jury, the injured man could have gone
free, and the county saved the expense Of his
maintenance.
Grand Juries arc also an item of expendi-
ture for every county. that would be we'll to
be rid of. Their sessions are frequently of
great length, made so by the failure of OBJ
tanning promptly important testimony
Neither is it unusual for witnesses to leave
a county between the commission of crime
and the meeting Of jury, and as result,
the facts in their possession are lost. Could
there be immediate action, this would seldom
occur
The reports of California Grand Juries
are admirable commentaries upon the system,
showing forth its inefficiency and defects in
strong light. These reports almost invaria-
bly, state that the county jals have been ex-
amined and found we'll kept, and the prison
ers properly fed. The ialer of course is
then complimented. The books of the coun-
ty officers are then examined and found cor
rect, but owing to the fact that the County
Supervisors have more immediate charge
of such things the examination has not been
critical. The Sheriff and his Deputies are
duly thanked for kind attention during their
labors, and the District Attorney is never
forgotten while the favors are being thus
distributed. The reports may propose the
abatement of some things that are against
the peace and good order of society, but
these propositions seem of secondary impor-
tance to the usual vote of thanks to the very
accommodating officers
These are some Of the errors we observe
in the grand jury system; errors that we
think will, sooner or later, cause it to be dis
pensed with. When this is done we must
go step further and require our criminal
courts to try causes whenever there is tusi-
ness to do--doing away entirely with stated
terms for courts having such jurisdiction.
We hope the time will soon come in Cali
fornia when grand juries will only be known
as of the past; it will then be certain that a
needed reformation has been effected.