National Republican., 1875-11-04
CRIMINAL COURT.

The Treasury Robbery and Snyder Release
Cases in Court-The Legality Of the Grand
Jury sustained-Nr. Cook Grows Facetious.
Upon the meeting of the court yesterday morn
ing the argument upon the plea challenging the
array of the grand jury was resumed; ottman,
Brewn and Halleck, and Green, Fisher, Evans
and LeiRhtnn all nrAsAnt- In..-'-' - A--...S
49, -~.-s-.~s asSorney
Wells opened. He said there could be no fault
found with either the clerk or marshal for the
manner in which the Jurors were summoned ana
drawn. They had donetheir duty conscendously
and we'll. The counsel should have raised their
objection to the array Of the grand Jury DeIoIe
the return OF the indictments. Inc ststuleseo'ef
any haHs or defects, If any sucn exlst.
JUDGE MACARTHUR
then gave his decision sustaining the legality Of
the Jury He said that public policy and the ad-
ministration of Justice looked not only 70 the
rights Of individuals, but OF the community:
trial, but mere matters of form should not DC q
lowed to stop the wheels ofjustice. But this is o
Of vast iS for IN case these tSs Psnd
Jury set aside, the consequences could hardly be
estimated, since the present grand jury had al
ready found over hundred Indictments and Tor
the same reasons the next grand jury might be
set aside. In the Supreme Court OF Pennsyivs-
MIA the array Of the grand jury was once chsi-
that had not the requisite amount OF Ssals upon
II, and in this case the whole proceeulngs were
set aside. This was an extreme case, pnt ne ueS
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he could not
allow that decision to stand in this court. In
lenged; in the case now before this court the OBJ
jections were brought in in pleas Of abatement.
The present mode of drawing jurors was merely
directory, and consequently q slight deviation
would not necessarily vitiate the whole panel.
The qualifications Of grand jurors, as provided py
the statute, were that they should De eitiSens OF
between the ages Of twenty-one and slxty.nVe
years, and shall be Of good character. Few Juries
technical objections could not have been raised.
The commissioners who were to select the names
S eSeG pTs Pc o re- pc nstSer Were thew
supposed to be familiar with the records OF the
court, and that slight errors would not or should
not necessarily render the Jury invalid. Mere
matters of form and slight technlcalities
SHOULD NOT DEFEAT THE AIMS OF JUSTICE.
He wsuId sustain the demurrer.
Mr.. Cook said there were witnesses in the court
room to sustain the plea Of the incompetency OF
Wise and Keys by their being over sixty-nVe
Judge Macarthur said the jurors themselves
were also present and could testify as to their
MI. Cook said they could not swear to their
own ages. This was physiological mistake. NO
Judge Macarthur asked Mr.. Cook if he (Mr.
c. could not swear to his age II put upon the
stand.
could swear to being present at the time of his
birth, but the age would have to be determined
by either the mother father, or others old enough
to testify, and who were present at the birth.
mir. Cook suggested, then, that, as some of his
brothers were hungry, recess be taken, and the
court took o recess for half an hour.
Upon the meeting Of the court again, Mr.. FL
lott asked that the hearing of the pleas 70 the
over-age of some Of the jurors be postponed until
tomorrow, (todsy0 since some Of tho witnesses
were absent.
The Court granted a 'postponement accord
ingly.
THE TREASURY ROBBERY.
Mr.. Henkle, the counsel for Halleck, said that
to the Indictment charging his client with the
larceny of $47, 900 from the United States, and to
the one charging him with embeZzling the money,
he would file special pleas
day.