The New York herald., 1872-12-22
Our Present Jury system-Ncccssitios

Our Present Jury system-Ncccssities
:. OF Reform.
AS administered in New York at present
our jury laws serve to abstract and defeat JUS
tce in criminal cases, rather than promote it.
Designed originally to shield the public from
arbitrary and prejudiced action Of irresponsi-
BILE rulers, to commit the life and liberty of the
citizen into the jealous keeping of his neigh
bors and peers who could protect him from
the penalty of trumped-up charges unsuscepti-
BILE of proof, while their own interest as we'll
as their sworn duty assured conviction of the
culprit whose guilt was proved, the jury was
long the cherished guardian of popular rights
We have changed all that In the early days
those who knew the circumstances of ON
alleged crime were the immediate neighbors.
They were likely to be biased by prejudice.
Now the daily newspaper, with lightning de-
spatches, acquaint all people of average intelli-
gence of the circumstances of all interesting
criminal events throughout the whole country.
Thus the rule which holds it trequisite to reject
from jury all who, being conversant with the
reported facts, have formed an impression as
to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner,
really excludes from the panel all the really
good jurors, puts stolid ignorance OF pre-
MUM and practically makes it almost impossi-
BILE to secure panel for an important trial.
We have case in point where the second
Stokes trial occupied the Oyer and Terminer
for the last four days, and barely secured the
twelve men deemed qualified for the jury. It
cannot be doubted that were this rule abro-
gated q far better panel than is possible to
secure under it could be empanelled in two
hours. All rejecting men know that such
opinion as may be formed from q hurried
news report in the mind of right thinking
man will at once be corrected on listening to
the careful presentation of the facts in evil
dence. Intelligent citizens who keep up with
the news of the day by reading reputable
journals are the class to whose verdict an
innocent man or judicious public prose-
cutor would wish to entrust an important case.
Let us, then, so change our jury law as to allow
this. This Winters Legislature can scarcely
better employ the peoples time than in enact
ing a law declaring that general information
shall not disqualfy a citizen from serving as
juror in criminal case. Such clause would
save q large amount of time in the Courts Of
this city, which are now hopelessly blocked
by the difficulty in securing juries. Another
proposed change, which has the sanction of
many judicious men, is to make the verdict of
two-thirds or majority of the trial panel
sufficient to convict. Possibly this latter may
be too sweeping innovation. 1t is the rule
in some European countries, and there works
to public satisfaction. Some form of relief
we must have or else criminal trials will be-
come an impossibility. Crime outruns the
capacities of our numerous Courts. Our jails
are too few to accommodate prisoners un-
tried on capital charges. We must have
facilities for more rapid trials or see crime
fearfully increase in consequence Of immu-
nifty from punishment.