Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-12-17
GRAND 1uRrFs.y

A year ago when the first Constitu'
tional Convention was in session, We
gave our views upon the Grand Jug
System. We averred that it was moi
only useless, cumbersome, and expen-
| siye rehc Of medieval semi-barbarism'
but was too frequently the engine o.
wicked, and malicious persecution. ~
partakt , in its secrecy, too much Oh shs
Star Chamber, the Holy 1nquisiton ana
the Venitian Council of Ten, to suit mod
ern ideas of the proper administration Of
Justice. Hearing but one side c. the
ones,ion before it, and declaring The ac-
c,,sed Of his reasonable and constitutional
=; hi to confront his aceusers, it in a null
t,ude of cases within the knowledge Of
every lawyer, has placed upon innocent
men the stigma of an indictment for felo-
ny; a stain which is by no means fully
erased by subsequent acquittal. Its ORR
ginal intent was the protection of the citi-
zen against the oppression and perse-
cution of tyrants; its present effect is ex-
actly the reverse, placing the character
and reputation of the purest citizen at'the
mercy of the inscriptions pejurer. We
perceive that the subject is attracting at
tention in California. The following er-
ticle We extract from the Sacramento
Bee: .- .rs.. ... .s..-
The Grand Jury System is relic of the
dark ages, which has been constitutionally
engraffed on our jurisprudence, and which
we blindly cling to, although it would puzzle
its most earnest advocate TO give any in
stance Of its benefits. So far as the admin
iSteriug of justice is concerned, the grand
jury system is sort Of fifth wheel to the ju-
dicial coach, more cumbersome than orna-
mental or useful. In fact, instead OF further
ing justice, it. gen raj influence is . perpet-
uate injustice. It is q sort Of Star Chamber
concern, before which spiteful and malicious
men can go and safely vent their malice
against those whom they dislike. Sitting in
secret, and only listening to one side of a
case, grand jerry is often made the instru-
hence, often works great and almost irrepar-
able injury to character and reputation
Generally, it is safe to say that much less
than one half the people indicted by grand
juries for criminal oHenses are convicted
On the contrary, with . fair and impartial
trial their innocence is made manifest.
When parties are acsc1lly guilty Of crime,
the necessity for the Intervention Of Grand
T. u, - n
entailing expense, often secures the final &C.
quittal of the criminal: Why We should
cling to such useless-yea, injdr,oas-sys:
tenn, it is hard to conceive. To Thollv rid
ourselves of it, we must Of course amend oul
Constitr ..ons, state and National. I; we
cannot wholly abolish it by such r-lsans, we
can do away with some Of the worst .satures
Of the system BY legislative enactment. We
can make laws compelling Grand Juries to
hold their sessions in public, and 70 give al
parties arraigned before them a lair chance
| to be heard in their own defense, so that re.
yenge and malice cannot in secret work oui
| their nefarious plans. II we capr3s wholly
do away with the system, we can e. least dc
away with some Of its worst fes lures.
We think the Bee errs in supposing that
the abolition of the Grand Jury system in
our State Courts requires amendment Of
the National Constitution. 1t was long
since held by the Supreme Court of Ehe
State of Vermont, that the provision Of
the Constitution of the United States,
providing for Indictment by Grand Jury,
was only applicable to cases arising in tea
Federal Courts, and not to those Of ne
several States. The Const: ltion Of Ore
gon gives the Legislature power to abolish
the Grand Jury system, and that clause
does not seem to have met with any oppo-
sition in Congress. We hope that oul
Legislature viii so frame our criminal
code that as far as possible, the evils
which surround the Grand Jury system
may be avoided. The secrecy of the til
bunal, and the exclusion OF testimony fol
the defense, are the main evils, and we
commend the suggestions of the Bee to
the consideration of our lawmakers.