The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-05

We have had some remarkable ver-
diets by juries In this country, and
have had occasion to notice a num-
Der of them. The one In the Puffen-
berger case, for instance, where the
prisoner was tried for criminal care
lessness resulting In the Alton Rail-
way disaster, was as queer verdict
In its way as one often hears. The
Jury decided that Puffenberger was
not guilty Of criminal carelessness,
and then censured the railway. for
employing 80 reckless, incompetent,
and careless an engineer! That was
equal to the Welsh jury, who found a
prisoner not guilty, but requested the
Judge to warn him not to yield to
temptation again!
Though we have had some strange
verdicts In this country, we are still
far in advance of most other nations.
and especially Italy, which, just now,
Is having some queer experience
Three cases, lately reported there,
seem at first blush increditable; but
when we think of what an average
Jury will do in this land of intelli-
gence, we feel inclined 10 credit these
cases, and should do so even If they
were not well authenticated = which
they are.
The Duchess of VastogirOdi, re-
siding in Naples, was robbed short
time ago of some very valuable dia-
monds. Suspicion fell upon her
maid, who was arrested. The evil
dence was positive; but the jury &C.
quilted the girl, on the ground that
the jewels exercised such a terrible
fascination on her that she was
"driven to commit the theft by an
irresistible force ~ The Duchess was
reprimanded for placing such temp.
tatiOns before the girl. Another was
still more absurd. A gentleman was
at church engaged in prayer. A man
fired q gun into the church, severely
wOunding the devotee in the leg
The firing party was tried, and the
Jury acquitted him, deciding that 1
the gentleman had been less super
stitiOus, and had not been praying
his SINE away at church, his LEG
would not have been In the way o.
; the bullet, and he would not have
been hurt! Another case, and one
that will be most heartily commend
ed by defaulting public servants. Il
that of tax collector of Naples, wht
ran away with million francs. HI
was arrested and tried, and the jury
acquitted him, on the ground tina
the money stolen belonged to the PEG
pie, and rs he was one OF the people
he was part owner of the money
and it would be mOnstrous to cOnvic
man for stealing his own property
/ This Is rather pleasant rule for thu
defaulters, surely, and has the meri
of being not only novel but ingeni
Gus. 1t is a great pity that the shrewt
. attorneys who defended Tweed an(
Genet did not think of such plea II
time to save the former from prison
/ and the latter from the disgrace o
running away.
. 1t is not at all wonderful, however
in the light, or rather the Obscurity o
such verdicts as these, that the Ital
ian Government has not concluded
that jury trials are an unmitigatet
humbug, and propose doing ava!
with them entirely. The fact is, tina
iuries need to be selected for their in
telligence, instead of their ignorance
as too frequent the case; and this is
difficult thing to do in country lik
Italy, where education is the excep
ton, instead of the rule. Here, how
ever, there is no excuse for packing
the box with a dozen ignorent men
and little care en- the part of tn
court will avoid verdicts remarkable
for nothing save their absurdity.-
Inter- Ocean.