The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-04-14
Women Jurors i'm Wyoming.
Letter from Judge Howe.

From tie Chicago Legal Neoos, april 8.
We have from the first taken great
interest in the experiment in Wyoming,
of allowing juries to be composed of
both men and women, and as we saw
many contradictory statements In regard
to the Wyoming juries going the rounds
of the press, we wrote to the Hon. j. II.
Howe, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of that Territory, requesting him
to give US his views as to the success ut
theexperiment. We are pleased to pub
fish the letter of Judge Howe, which is all
the most sanguine friend of the cause
could desire. The Judge, after writing
the letter upon request, consented to its
publication as written:
"CHEYENNE, WYOMING, April A, 1870.
" Mrs. Myra Bradeoell, Chicago, H.:
"DEAR MADAM: / am in receipt of
your favor of the Goth ult., in which you
request me to give you truthful state
ment, over my own signature, for publica-
ton in your paper, of the history of, and
my observations in regard to, the woman
grand and petit jurors in Wyoming l
will comply with your request, with this
qualification, that it be not published
over my own signature, as do not covet
ne vspaper publicity, and have already,
without any agency or fault of my own,
been subjected to an amount of it which
I never anticipated nor conceived of, and
which has been far from agreeable to me
II had no agency in the enactment of
the law in Wyoming comforting legal
equality upon women. found it upon
the statute book of that Territory, and in
accordance with it's provisions several
women were legally drawn by the proper
officers on the grand and petit juries of
Albany County, and were duly$ummoned
by the Sheriff without any agency of
mine. On being appraised of these facts,
| conceived it to be my plain duty to
fairly enforce this law, as I would any
other; and more than this, resolved at
once that, as it had fallen to my lot to
have the experiment tried under my
administration, it should have fair trial,
and therefore assured these women that
they could serve or not, as they chose;
that if they chose to serve, the Court
would secure to them the most respect
full consideration and Difference, and pro-
tect them from insult in word or gesture,
and from everything which might offend
a modest and yirtuous woman in any OF
the walks of life in which the good and
true women of our country have been
accustomed to move. a1a a
while hal never been an advocate
for the law, felt that thousands or good
men and women had been, and that they
had right to see it fairly administered !;
and was resolved that it should not be
sneered down if I had to employ the
whole power Of the court to prevent it.
I felt that even those who were opposed
to the pollcy.of admitting woment to the
right of suffrage and to hold Office would
condemn me if I did not do this. 1t was
also sufficient for me that my own judg-
ment approved this course.
with such assurances, these women
chose to serve, and were duly impanelled
as Jurors They are educated, cultivated
Eastern ladies, who are an honor to their
sex. They have, with true womanly de
votion, left their homes of comfort in the
States, to share the fortunes of their hus-a
bands and brothers in the far West, and
to aid them in founding new State be-
yond the Missouri.
"And now as to the results With all
my prejudices against the policy, am
under conscientious obligations to say
that these women acquitted themselves
with such dignity, decofum, propriety of
conduct, and intelligence as to win the
admiration of every fair-minded citizen
of Wyoming They were careful, pains
taking, intelligent, and conscientious
They were firm and resolute for the right
as established by the law and the testi-
mony. Their verdicts were right, and,
after three or four criminal trials, the
lawyers engaged in defending persons
accused of crime began to avail them
selves of the right of peremptory chsl-
lenge to get rid of the women Jurors.
who were too much in favor of enforcing
the laws and furnishing crime to suit the
interests of their clients! After thel
grand jury had been in session two days,
the dance-house keepers, gamblers, and
denaimoGds fed out Of the city in dismay,
to escape the indictment of women grand |
jurors In short, have never, in twenty. |
five years of constant experience in the |
courts of the country, seen more faith |
full, intelligent, and resolutely honest
grand and petit jury than these. a
"a contempt;bly lying and silly, des-
patch went over the wires to the effect |
that during the trial of A. w. HOWE for
homicide On which the jury consistingl
If six women and six men, the men and
women were kept locked up together all
night for four nights. Only two night
during the trial. and on these
nights, by my order, the jury were taken
% the parlor of the large, commodious
md well-furnished hotel of the Union
Pacific Railroad, in charge of the Sheriff
md woman bailif, where they were
supplied with meals and every comfort,
md at 10 O'clock the women were con.