New-York tribune., 1867-06-08
OUR JURY SYSTEM.

| many cases, no one can dOuDt thaO iVo oi''"o
abolition would throw dangerous amount Oh
power into the hands of judges, corrupting inc
best OF them, as uncontrolled power Always
does corrupt. Like all other institutions by
which free peoples seek TO preserve Their hber-
| ties il is cumbrous and troublesome compared
with The peremptory methods of despotlc gov
/ ernments and its burdens are sometimes felt
so strongly by the community as Ito make 1t
in certain sense unpopular.
Every business man knows how unwelcome
to him is the dirty scrap of paper in which the
Sheriff invites him to attend the next Circuit
Court. 1t destroys his peace OF mind Tor
week before the Court opens. III he mas
| lawyer in his employment, or among MS
! friends, he insists that the latter shall get his
name off the jury-ist. He becomes so nervous
| that he is sure he must be i'll, and considers
| himself injured if his doctor will not give INN
n certificate showing him to be on the high
road to the grave IT, however, all devices
| fail to excuse his presence ut the opening OF
the Court, and he does not choose to risk the
! iine he sits impatiently with his com
panions in affection until the Judge calls Tor
excuses Then follows a scene which IL
the exact counterpart of Nasby's caucus at
| the Cleveland Convention, where, it may be
remembered, upon the Chairman calling Tor
resolutions every delegate arose, and put
ting his hand into his breast pocket, said he
| had "dottcd down few ices which he would
Submit TO the caucus" Just so, when the
Judge inquiries whether any juror has an excuse
to offer every man in the room seems to rise
and make his way to the bench, with an eX-
treme anxiety to escape from his unwelcome
duty visible upon his countenance. The
unanimity with which excuses are offered, OF
course makes the judge reluctant to accept
any and thus it not seldom happens that jurors
feel themselves to be unfairly treated-ther
excuses, which they know to be truthful and
Just, being rejected simply because the judge
has become disgusted with the shufiling and
prevarcation of those who preceded them on
the line.
The unwillingness of respectable men to
serve on urieS leads many of them to abstain
from voting because they hear 1t said that the
jury panels are 'madc up from the poll-lists,
and in some cases they refuse their names to
the City Directory for the same reason Some
take refuge in the uniformed militia; or, in
the days of volunteer fire departments, pre-
fcrrcd To luse their rest of nights and their
peace by day at the naturalization of the bell.
rather than serve their country in the tranquil
jury box.
The result is. and has been for an indefinite
period in the past, that business in the Courts
is often materially delayed by the lack OF
Jurors. At the commencement of the present
term of Court no business could be done on
the iirst day for want of the sacred twelve
This total stoppagc of business is not an in
frequent occurrence; while delay of one or
two hours on the same account is such a COM
mon occurrence that the reporters never deem
il worthy of mention. The inconvenience
caused by this constant interruption of business
is very great. especially to suitors, and has a
large share in producing those delays of the
law of which laymcn 50 much complain.
The evils of the present system are obvious
enough but the remedies are not quite so
clear. Very simple cxpedionts will suffice to
get iurymcn in abundance. such rs they are /:
three dollars day, or perhaps even two,
would suffice TO insure n perennial supply.
But quality, as well as quantity, must be con-
sidcred and the class of men who would he
tempted by the pay alone, at any conceivable
rate, woud be undesirable jurors. Some means
! should be found of making the service tolcrable
TO men engaged in regular pursuits, and whom
no pccuniary compensation would tempt to
become professional jurymen.
| Proper compensation is certainly one inn
portant and indeed essential, step toward re-
form Every juryman in this city should re-
ceive mt least two dollars Il day, promptly
paid Even wealthy man likes to receive
enough to pay for his lunch on such occa-
sions; and to the majority of jurors this fee
would sensibly diminish their loss, and cOnse
nently their sense of hardship But after all,
it would not amount to half the daily earnings
Of decent mechanic, and would he ridiculous,
considered as an nducement, to prosperous
tradesman.
The principal reason, as far as we can Judge,
why businessmen object to jury duty IL that
it takes them away from business for long
! time at once, upon short notice, and with an
entire disregard of their convenience, or even
of their necessities In short, the system is a
cast iron one, and cannot be accommodated To
the wants of individual men, Thus, friend
of ours commenced term OF service at the
Circuit Court, expecting to go through with it
but suddenly finding himself deirauded to
large amount by parties who had run off West
ward, he was obliged to leave instantly in pur-
suit, and did not return until the court had
adjourned. Shortly afterwaid. he was called
upon TO pay q tine of S25 for
| every day of his absence. Naturally, he felt
that this was practically unjust, however diff
cult it might have been to frame a rule TO
meet his case. SO one class of men can easily
spare a couple of weeks ont of January, who
could not afford to lose two hours in May
while another class could spare the time i'll
| I..t thun in, tlart nd xrat