The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1877-11-28

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dersd to every person, that Is, ths pre-
sumption in favor OF . good character.
Are not the m obs OF the present time
jury OF his vicinsgs who know his
guilt and degraded character, and that
he, perhaps, has escaped dozen times
from punishment through the msshes OF
legal technicalities.
Lynch Law, kuklux, and regulators,
are all disorganizing and disastrous to
the peace and COED order Of society. but
they are parssites that have. and will
continue to take root and grow upon
the excrsssencss Of any judicial tribunal
that loses the end and object Of justice
in technical chicsnery and red tape form
alities. That one rascal or knave shall
thwart eleven good and true men from
convicting the basest criminal, is q moral
absurdity. Christ chose twelve disci pies
yet one OF them had devil. And for =
sheriff or any other officer to select twelve
men out Of . crowd without getting a
knave or a fool, or some one who is q
monomsniac upon some particular snb-
jet, 10 very difficult thing to do. Yet,
by our laws regulating jury trials, the
whole twelve must agree before verdict
can 10 rendered. II 10 well known fact
that some men are 40 constituted that
they can see deeper into mill stone than
any one else, and hence it lie that such
men as these 90 often find eleven igno-
rant, obstinate men that hang q jury.
Besides this. jurymen are too apt to have
their prejudices for and against the par
ties on trial, and the lawyers conducting
the trials. and these prejudices finally
extend to the individual members Of the
panel to such q degree that cases have
occurred where Q panel after having
served few days became so. embittered
in their feelings that hung jury was the
result in almost every cause that they
were called to try.
II 10 an old adsge that in the multi
tuds Of counsel lies safety. Certainly
We have no lack Of counsel nowadays,
for We have four and Are hour speeches
delivered with all the spread eagle dis
play OF Phillips or q GrattaA, on every
fifteen shilling case that comes before a
jury, hut would far prefer the verdict Of
one plain, honest, common>sense man.
thas the conclusion that would be arrived
at BY twelve picked up men sfter gazing
for hours through the Kaleidoscope OF
mingled views and fsucies, shook and
mingled. and turned over in 9 jury room.
Glazing as the present jury system is. it
is but a small portion of the evils that
now surround our whole judicial tribun>
ais.
The delays and psrversions Of Justice
compelled our English ancestors to ex-
tort from King John the great magma
charta OF rights. 10 which it va. declared
that Justice should be administered
without sale. delay or denial" This
same promise has bees incorporated into
all our organic laws and declarations of
righta Yet how is this promise being
ful6lledf The promise 10 that it shall be
administered without sale. How 10 that
lulflledi Law 10 now luxury that can
only be INDUCED in by the rich man who
is able to pay. and the pauper or bank
rupt, who cannot be made to pay. 1t is
= conceded fact that man had better
suffer great wrong than risk the laws
delays and uncertainties. Let two men
fall out about hog, or a COW. or q horse,
and there is strong presumption that
they will both leave court bankrupt.
Another promise lie without delay, yet
when man begins a lawsuit now. it is
unknown when it will end. Dickens
Jaundice vs. Jaundice, is no overdrawn
fiction. SUITE Of twenty and thirty years
standing are quite common occurrences.
Without denial, is another promise, yet
to any intelligent person who will witness
the proc edings OF court. it is evident
that justice 10 often denied. Full sne-
half OF theeases decided are not upon the
legal merits Of the case. but upon some
outside issne, some mistake of the party
in preparing his case, or some missing
link which has no. been supplied accord
ing to some fixed and unbending rule Of
practice. A trial in court nowadays is
conducted with all the forecast and
scutsness Of . game Of chess, and every
move is made, not to elicit truth and jus.
tice, but TO win, and the general result is
that the most skillful player wins the
game.
Our common asd statute laws are
founded on the broad principles Of justice
and equity. Legislatures adopt codes OF
practice to simplify proceedings in court.
that trials may be conducted in common
ssnse way. but what is the resulti Our
whole country is overrun with the legal
profession. They everywhere surround
the temples Of justice 80 that none can
enter without the Shibboleth OF n fee.
The courts and lawyers soon discover
in what the legislature conceived to be
plain common sense rules Of practice,
such an extraordinary amount OF unesm-
mon sense that practicing lawyers of
years standing, cannot bring q suit in
court on q plain note of hand that will
bear the test of q demurrer. The legal
profession has always bees considered an
honorable calling. Thousands have
rushed into it until they are about to de-
vosr the land. They must live This they
can never do BY administering justice
upon plain common sense principles. All
the rules Of practice and law Of evidence
must be made to ft in the old and COM
plicsted grooves of logical precision and