Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-01-25
For the Chrol
THE JURY SYSTEM.

persons of all, and to have the honor
of the State vindicated and respected
aud, therefore, such legislation as will
secure these ends in the most speedy,
cheapest, plainest and surest way is de-
sirable. Time and experience will I'M
mistakably demonstrate the changes
in our laws necessary to suit the times
in which we live. We have many stat
utes now in force that have proven to
be most signal failures, and wholly in
adequate to the purposes for which
they were adopted, the most prominent
of which is our jury system-or trial
by jury of litigated cases in our courts
"a system which we seem to have
chung to more on account of its antiq-
uity than its utility. For it certainly
has no usefulness further than to be
source of heavy taxation upon the peo-
pie (if that can be called useful), and
delay of the ends of justice between
the parties. And it is astonishing that
we have adhered to it so long, and that,
too, almost without murmur even
from the well informed, who certainly
know that it is one of the most glaring
| farces now on the statute books of
Tennessee. We have in our courts
many abstruse law law questions to be
! decided, where there are great and Vi
tai interests at stake, amounting to
thousands, and sometimes even mil
lions of dollars, and in selecting per-
sons to decide and settle those ques-
tons, as well as minor ones, it is indis-
pensably necessary that they should
have at least two prominent traits of
character, honesty and capacity. The
first you may find among the great mass
of the people such as we commonly call
in for jurors But capacity is not gen.
orally found among them, sufficient to
insure correct decision of intricate
law cases; for they do not pretend to
know anything about the law in its
most simple forms. The law has not
been their study. And to call up
dozen such good honest citizens, and
solemnly swear them in open court, to
decide complicated case according to
the law and evidence, we think is sim
ply ridiculous. But where will you
find honesty and capacity combined?
You will certainly find capacity among
the legal profession, among those who
are learned in the law, who have made
the law their study and their business,
who have studied it in all of its
branches and in all of its intricacies
And you will as likely find honesty
there as elsewhere. Farmers under
stand farming; mechanics understand
mechanism; doctors understand med
icine, and the human organism sur
geons understand surgical operations
an engineer understands the business
of laying off roads and getting depths,
nights, &c. and, in short, every man
to his trade, and the lawyer to his trade
likewise. Then let Us dispense with
juries, particularly in civil eases. The |
people would be much pleased to be re-
lieved of serving on juries. And the |
expense of juries is enormous, fully as
enormous as they are worthless.
Hear Judge Baxter, of the Nash
vile circuit upon this part of the sub
ject in an address which he delivered /
before the last General Assembly, and
ponder it well. 1t emanated from
giant mind and an honest heart, and
from one who has almost worn himself
out in the judicial service of our State.
He says: "Juries cost Davidson cOun=
ty SO, 900 annually, which would be
an average of $500 to each county.
There being ninoty-one counties in the
State, the aggregate cost to all the
counties is 500, sos, besides 252,7
days lost from the productive industry
of the State and worth as many dollars;
which, added to the amount paid for
iuries, would be the enormous sum of
S75S, 262, as the cost Of juries for the
people for only one year.
We have fifteen judicial circuits in
the State and consequently have to pay
fifteen Circuit Judges a salary of
$500 each, which would make an ag-
gregate of S37 800, and this added to
the cost of juries makes the handsome
little sum of 1895, 762, which has to be
paid out of the hard earnings of the
people of Tennessee annually for the
two items only above recited.
But it may be very properly said that
that it is unwise in any person to COM
plain of any system, unless he can offer
a better one. This | will endeayor to
do. Suppose that a law is enacted
making the salary of the Judges suffic-
lent to induce the very best lawyers in
the several circuits to accept the posi-
tion-say at least $1,000 per annum,
which would only aggregate 100000
Let those Judges decide all eases COM
ing before their courts (as Uhancellors I
do), without jury, unless one or both
of the parties litieant prefer to have (.
jury, then let him, or them, have a jury {
and pay the expense of it.
4 Circuit Judge would be as likely
to be honest as a Chancellor. And in
two years time the dockets of the /;
courts would be cleared up; for a i
Judge would settle five cases in the
same time it would take jury to bag
Gle over one. There would be but few
few eases carried to the Supreme Court :
and the complaint of the laws delay '
would soon cease. We would have an !
assurance that we would have speedy
and correct decisions of all of our law '
suits by men who understand their '
business. And We would also save to '
the State the sum of S735, 162 annually,
which might be appropriated to much .
better purpose than to worse than throw t
it away upon inefficient juries. For !
example, with the money thus saved '
we could employ 1,S39 common school ;