Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-01-27
What are we to do with our
Criminals ?

The people of the State of Wisconsin, at
the last general election, ratified the
amendment to the constitution of the
State, which abolishes the Grand Jury
System, and it has been officially declared
abolished hence, no criminal can be in
dicted by grand jury, and there is no
provision in any law Of the State for pre-
senting criminal before the higher courts
for trial for any of the higher grades of
crime and without such presentment no
person can be tried for his liberty. No
higher court known to the laws of the
State has any original jurisdiction in any
criminal case unless on presentment by
indictment or information of some kind,
and there is no law in our statute books
at present authorizing any court, jury, or
officer of the law to make such present
ment.
A person may be arrested for high
crime On affidavit, and warrant issued by
justice of the peace, and brought before
him for examination, but the justice has
not jurisdiction to try the case. If he be-
lieve there is a probability of guilt, the
former law required him to put the priso-
ner under bonds to appear at the next ses-
sion of the higher court, that the crime
might be further inquired of by the body
of the county in the persons Of the grand
jury. Now, that the grand jury is abolish
ed, and no substitute provided for it, what
can the justice do with a criminal III whom
he has found probability of guilt? He
cannot put him under bonds to await a
further inquiry by a grand jury, body
that does not exist, and at present is un-
known to the law. He cannot put him
under bonds to await trial by higher
court, for there is no court, high or low,
that can try him until properly presented
and at present there is no power to pre-
sent him. The higher court cannot try
him on the simple complaint made to a
Justice of the peace to obtain the warrant
for that would be a clear violation of all
law, depriving him Of his right to demand
the full mature and cause of the accuse
ton against him." The court cannot pre-
sumo to try him by the common law, in
the absence of statute, for the people by
their own act have established a statute
forbidding it.
In default of bail a justic of the peace
cannot commit probable criminal to Jail
for justice of the peace can do no act ex
cept what is plainly laid down in the stat
ute and when the grand jury system was
abolished it carried away the power of the
Justice to commit man to Jail to await the
action of that body; and as that was the
only thing which the statute authorized
him to commit person for, who rs eharg-
ed with crime of which he has no juris-
diction, it is paIpable that he cannot, un-
der the present state of the law, commit him
| at all. Or, if he were violent enough in
his presumption to commit a person
whether or no, hc6eas corpsss would give
the prisoner immediate relief, if not carry
with it right of action against the justice,
and perhaps the officer executing the or.
der, for such presumption.
The legislature is at work on law to
provide remedy for this breach, but un.
til it is perfected, there will remain bro.
ken link in the chain Of our criminal law.