Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-05-28
JUDICIAL COMEDY OF ERRORS.
A Jury Gets Hold Of Sacramento Wine
Subsequent Tremors-A juror Who Tries
to Force Himself on District Court Jury
and Who Gets Fined $40 for Absence from
County Court Jury.

Two incidents have TRANSFERRED in
our courts lately which deserve
commemor The first was
connected with the Wong Chu
Shut jury, which was locked up
Saturday night and discharged
Sunday morning. Thereby hangs
tale. The County Court room is
used by the Christian Church OF
Los Angeles rs II place of worship
on Sundays. 1t is the practice of
this denomination to have com
munion at each Sunday service.
In a little cupboard in room adj
joining the County Court, frequent
ly allotted to juries, the sacra :.
mental wine and other necessarias
of this rite are kept. 1t so hap
pened that the Wong Chu Shut
jury, after having been out little
while, and falling to agree, being
assigned to this room, settled
down upon this cupboard as
an object of great curiosity. Final
ly one of the twelve happened to
have key which just fitted the
lock, and the much priced wine
was discovered. Whatever doubtthe
several members of the Jury may
have had as to the merits of the
Shut case, they failed to shut that
cupboard, as a becoming sense of
n,eun, and fuum would have led
them to do. They did not shut it,
until they had drank every drop of
the sacramental wine.
When the jury was released from
this fateful room Sunday morning,
to announce to Judge Sepulveda
that they could not agree, the Of
ficer of the Court noticed the havoc
which had been made in the cup.
board, and the fact came to the at
tention of the Judge. After having
discharged the jury, his Honor
asked if they knew what they had
drank.
A juryman volunteered the in
formation that it was pretty fair
wine.
His Honor asked if anyone knew
for what purpose the wine had
been placed in that receptacle.
Mr.. Julius Lyons, the steno-
grapher of the Court, volunteered
the Information that the wine con-
tanned slow poison, which was
supposed to have been used in
bringing about the death of citi-
zen who lived in the southern end
OF Los Angeles county. 1t could
not be expected, from the nature of
the drug to operate for several
hours yet.
ga stomach pump" gasped the
foreman of the jury.
80 my God! a stomach pump
right away" yelled the jurors in
chorus. They turned all colors in
less time than it takes to write it,
and could only be treasured by the
guffaw which went round the court
at the excellence of the joke.
DR.. Lockhart, who is Supern-
tendent of the Sunday School of
the Christian Church, was only
measurably consoled for the loss of
his wine when he learned that the
jury had fearful pang of agony
over its sacriligeous consumption.
Monday, also, was not to pass
without its eventful episode. There
was jury trial in the District
Court. About twelve O'clock the
court took recess till three o'clock
p. NJ. When the jury re-assembled
and prepared to take their seats,
thirteen claimants were found for
the twelve chairs.
Foreman ito gentleman who
seemed rather strange to him) You
don't belong here.
Thirteenth man-You bet your
boots do belong to this jury.
The foreman appealed to the
court, aud the Court ordered Clerk
Adams to call over the list of the
jury. Sure enough the thirteenth
man proved to be- an intruder. He
left, finding his way into the Coun-
ty Court exactly in time to hear
himself fined $40 by Judge Steph-
ems for non-attendance at the jury
to which he did belong.
A pretty good comedy of errors
for our Los Angeles Courts in the
brief compass of forty-eight hours,