New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-09-15
COURT RECORD.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER Ia, 1874.
Superior lsistrice s,ouvs.

/
| TENDER, 1874, $50 names of persons to serve
| as jurors in the Superior Criminal Court for
| the regular term of said court, to commence
| on the first Monday OF October, 1874, and
the sheriff, Immediately after said drawing,
shall proceed to summon the persons whose
names shall have been drawn to appear in
court on the said first Monday of October
| 1874, az ten O'Clock il the forenoon of that
| day.
| The attention Of the jury commissioners
is called to the fact that it is part Of the
| duty incidental to their office to see that
| the names of persons who for any other
| than legal cause have not served, or who,
having been discharged in any OF the courts
without serving, be replaced in the jury
| box, subject to further drawing. The
| clerk and sheriff OF this court will be
| directed to render such assistance to the
commissioners as may be needed to enable
| them to properly perform said duty. As an
| instance of the absolute necessity for the
| performance of this duty the commissioners
! are referred to the fact that out of the two
| last drawings for the First District Court
| twenty-eight persons have not served, whose
names should be and nave been ordered to
| be replaced in the jury box. -
The jury commissioners to this returned
the following reply:
Rooas JURY CoxMIssIoNERs
New Orleans, September H. 1874.
Hon: 4. A. Atocha Judge o: the Superior Criminal
Court:
We are in receipt of your order for Jury
| 10 be drawn for service in tie Superior
Criminal Court, and will promptly comply
! with the same
We take this occasion to call your a:ten-
ton to the necessity of the adoption of
! liked and certain rules regulating the SER
vice OF jurors after they have been drawn
and summoned, and we beg in the outstars
| TO say that We have no thought of ilnpugn-
! ing the Judgment or integrity OF conduct
on the part Of any official. The object of
! the new law was to secure efficiency and
certainty in the jury service, but. without
| fault Onl our part, these ends. excep. in the
| Superior Criminal Court, have been do.
| feated. As commissioners We have the
| right to expect that when competent and
qualified juror has been drawn he
will be required to serve. We are
aware that it frequently happens the
names OF men who have lawful excuses
are placed in the wheel; sometimes those
OF unnatucalized citizens. 1t is impossible
for US to know who are entitled to exemp-
ton, even il it were cOmpeten. for US TO
pass upon such questions. When the sys.
tenn was inaugurated our personal knowl-
edge Of individuals enabled US TO select
competent men, but we soon found there
was q limit 70 that source Of information,
and, after much consideration, we con-
cluded that safe and just rule would be to
take the names of taxpayers, and SO for
some time past our lists have been III ade up
il that way, as far as possible taking only
such as were believed to be qualified to be
registered as voters.
1t is assumed that . citizen summoned a.
| juror has No more right to be excused
from service than a witness who has been
called upon 70 testify in a case; vet whole
panels OF Jurors have been discharged. not
because they were not qualified under the
law, but TO: other and different reasons.
Your honor. q. indeed is the general
public, IS aware OF the difficulty
ing O: jurors for the First Distric.
Cour- Your ocGev now IL hand contains
an a!.Gsion 10 the fact wherein il is stated
that besides those excused for legal cause,
there were twenty-eIght excused who Were
good and competent jurors under the law
The saIae difficulty has never occurred in
the Superior Criminal Court. although the
juries tor both courts have been drawn from
lists OF names selected il precisely the sans,
manner IN your court forty-eight names
generally gave thirty-fve to forty Jurors.
For the present month two panels of thirty.
six each have beer drawn for the First
District C0Ur:, and the judge OF that court
asks fGe thirty-s.x more. At this rate i:
will take a thousand names a month 90
iiA4uisI iifics lOG lUlc DArIsus AItItN4Iu we
Inclose . list OF the persons excused. being
twentv-eight in number. or nearly as many
as The law provides shall be drawn foE that
court.
As commissioners. we do no. wish 10 place
ourselves in an attitude of discOurtesy to-
wards any of the courts, but we do desire
20 know VIA. our duties are. and what con-
struction your honor places on that pro-
vision OF rne Jury law which says that
.juries for the First District Court shall be
drawn sin the same manner as herein d.
rected tor the Superior Criminal Court,
except that the Numbe,' % be dram, shall be
only hifty-si.." We have the honor to be
your Obea.ent servants.
". NJ. sMALLwOOD.
g. CASANAVE.
Judge A.ocha's answer is as follows:
INFERIOR CRIMINAL CouRr,>
FO; the Parish OF Orleans, ,
New Orleans. La, September IA, l8.4.)
siessrs ". N. Snailwos. and G. Cassnave, Jury
Commissioners:
GEN7LEMEN-in answer to your commu-
nicaton II references to the repeated draw
ings of persons for che First District Court,
l stats that the First District Court has no
jurisdiction and no powers which are not
expressly delegated 20. it by statute that
court has no common law powers.
lnder the law creating the Superior
Criminal Court and establishing the jury
system now in force, your duties are clearly
defined. and there is nothing in the la W
which permits the First District Court to
exercise any control over you. The lam
guage Of tae statute. quoted by you in
your communication, is susceptible in my
opinion, o. BIT: enc construction, and that
is that you can draw from the box for each
term of the First District Court onlp thirty
six Jurors. That number was deemed by
the Legislature quite sufficient to carry on
the business OF that court, and think the
Legislature was right, specially considering
the class Of cases tried in that court and
further that resort can be had 10 talesmen
should the panel run short. For the pur.
pose Of compelling the proper service and
attendance OF jurors the First District Court
has ample power.
agree with you that at the rate jurors
are called for it will take a very large num-
Der to do the business of the courts. not to
say anything of the great and unnecessary
expense entailed upon the oyerburdened
and Impoverished city Of New Orleans.
Yours truly.
A. A. ATOCHA, Judge.
Second District Court.
Succession OF William D. Vance opened.