Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-02-03

coming meekness, and then deciding ac-
cording to their own notions of law and
right This is especially SO in civil
causes, where the government or great
corporation is party against private in.
dividuals. In such cases it is often
nearly impossible to obtain fair and
impartial verdict We could name a
county whore railroad company was
never known to win the verdict, no mat
ter what the law or the evidence might
be, or how often the vardict might be set
aside, or judgments reversed by the SUI
perior tribunals; and railroad cases are
OF common occurrence there, We could
name another county in which verdicts
have been set aside and judgments re-
versed by the higher courts no less than
eight times in a single case, and still the
popular element continues to speak
through the jury against the solemn
Judgement OF some of the purest and
best men on the bench Yet this is a
mere civil action for damages, in which
the public have no interest whatever;-
but there is u popular jealousy of cor.
poratlons to be gratifed; and so, right
or wrong, the verdict is always for the
plaintiff Sach abuses can only become
frequent under the jury-system, and
could hardly occur with any Judge who
has any professional pride, to say moths
ing OF honesty. That kind of contuma-
cy amounts to species of notification,
and any Judge who should attempt it ard
persist in it would be speedily impeached
and removed,
t. Jurors are beyond the reach of i'm.
parchment becuse their Office ends with
the finding of the verdict Not only SO,
they are practically beyond the reach of
any punishm mt for a false verdict In
the oIden time writ Of attaint lay to in
CURE whether a jury of twelve men gave
false verdict, and if the grand Jury of
attaint found the verdict to have been OBJ.
tanned by corruption Of the jury, the iu,
rors were outlawed and made forever in
famous and were also punished by con-
fiscatlon and Imprisonment. If this rem.
edy was ever adopted in this country, it
long since fell into disuse Jurors now
SIT and determine the rights of praties
without any responsibility to the law ex.
cept Tor perjury and taking brides,
and these charges, and particularly the
hrst, from the very nature of the case
can with difficulty, and only at rare in-
tervals, be substantiated.
The defects which have been enumer-
ated, and they are not all that could be
mentioned, are not accidental, but essen
tai defects of the system. They are de.
fects which may well be tolerated in
causes of a public nature for the sake of
insuring the perpetual sovereignty of the
people but which in the trial of private
suits are burdensome and growing evil
After all, says Blackstone, "it must be
Owned, that the best and most etiectual
method to preserve and extend the trial
by jury in practice, would be by endeay>
orins to remove all the defects, as well
as to improve the advantages incident to
this mode of inquiry. If istice is not
done to the entire satisfaction of the peo-
pie in this method of deciding facts, in
spite of all encomiums and panegyrics
on trials at the common law, they will
resort in seach of that justice to another
tribunal though more dilatory, though
more expensive, though more arbitrary
in its form and constitution. If Justice
Is not done to the crown by the verdict
of a jury, the necessities of the public
revenue will call for the erection of sum,
mary tribunals"
1t remains to be noted that trials of
civil causes before court withuot a Jury
is no untried experiment even in this
country and England. The immense
commercial and international interests
which are adjusted in the admiralty
courts are not less wisely, nor less salts.
factorly determined because they are
decided upon without the Intervention
of ajury 1t is believed that the impor,
tant and oftentimes complicated cases
which are decided in chancery are as
conscientiously decided upon the facts
as in the common law court, and even
more impartially, We have never heard
that the safety of our political rights is
endangered by this single Judge jurisdic.
ton, But we are certain that it is FREE
quent remark among lawyers that it is n
good rule to submit righteous cause
to the court, and to try bad one before
jury.