Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-24
SQUELCRED
By the Law, OF which He Proposes 40
Become the ExpOunder-sad and
Terrible work Done by
sheriff Anderson.
He nIaushters the Venerable Nation
aIist, Judge r. II. scruggs, on the
COIOred Jury Question, and
Leaves Him without
Recourse.

COl0red Jury Question, ana
Leaves Him without
Recourse.
The following, which we publish by request
of Sheriff Anderson, will be much relished
by the members of the bar, and may rot be
without effect upon the colored people, with
whom il has been attempted to make great
deal of capital on the jury question:
AN OPEN LETTER TO JUDGE P. T. SERVICES.
Judge P T. Scruggs:
My DEAR SIR-The clamor of the colored
voter Tor the right TO sit upon Jurles meets
one at eTery turn. Your reply to my letter
If the twentieth instant will not satisfy him
and does not satisfy me. assdrei you, judge,
that have the very highest regard fot your
venerable age and high attainments, both
moral and mental, and if in this defensive
discussion have fallen into offensive ways,
1t will cause me much grief to feel that L
have unnecessarily wounded your feelings.
We are engaged IN good natured political
warfare, and finding your speeches to have
had the effect of infaming the colored voter
causelessly against me, have felt constrained
to defend myself. If the matter ended where
you doubtless intended 1t should, with special
Jurors in certain causes, where all parties are
colored, there would be bat little worthy of
my notice. But the colored people now feel
that you are their future political savlor-or
rather that if my competitor Is elected-he
will summon them to do jury duty in all the
courts, and, in fact, that one of
the good things to accrue to them
will be dollar and q half q day
and free lunch for this duty, and they have
nothing short of designs upon the places OF
that highly respectable body of citizens known
contemptuously as chronic jurors. Now, IN
der your teaching, | am the wicked one pre-
venting a contamination of all this earthly
happiness. Let US see whether | am or not;
and put it to you again, that you must, In
justice TO me and to yourself, come up to the
scratch, and tell these people, not THAT If
the sheriff sees fit, " etc, but plainly, that L,
Judge Scruggs, if elected. promise you men
of color to place you on juries. | still say,
Notwithstanding the information kindly vol
unteered, that IN no case does the sheriff have
any latitude In this matter. In the supreme
court of Tennessee, sitting in Jackson, Ten
nessee, April term, 1872, IN The case OF James
Cox and Joe Hunt rs: the State of Tennessee
mo 81 S. ID. }, Judge Nicholson. chief justice,
delivered the opinion OF the court as follows
1t is insisted that when the regular panel was e1-
hausted, and 1t became necessary to have another
panel the court erred in desIs mating the persons to
constitute that panel Instead OF leaving the seec
This raises the question, upon whom does the law
devolve the duty of selecting or designating the
talesmen to constitute jury when the regular panei
in the trial Of criminal cases. to have a larger or
different panel from that which constitutes the reg
ton renders necessary for us to construe the stat
utes providing for the appointment and impanel-
ing of juries The duty of designating the persons
who to jurors for the circuit or criminal
courts is Imposed upon the county eouts Il is then
the Jurors so designated. and Is maze his duty To
summon them to serve as Jurors at the succeeding
the grand jury is to be elected and impaneled The
other jurors of the list constitute the petit jurors for
the term:
But If the county court fail to nominate, or the
persons nominated fail TO attend. the court shall
sheriff TO summon them as jurors, aud he persons
so summoned shall act as such" (Sec. 3a930
for each term of the court IL Is made tue duty OF The
county cou T. In the first place, 10 designate the per-
persons designated fail to attend the Judge of the
court is required to perform The same duty by desig
mating the persons TO constitute the regu ar panel;
and both the duty of the sheriff Is simply that
of summo ing the pc sons so designated.
the chancery court other courts of the State not
supplied with regular jurors, they may be summoned
3993-that is the court shall designate the persons
to constitute the panel, and direct the sheriff to
When special jurors are allowed By law, IL is made
the duty of tue sheriff to summon them aDStGnter
scrib-d In section 1898 That is, he Is to summon
the persons designated by the court TO act as such
special jurors.
1t thus appears, that in providing for regular
jurors 1t is first the duty of the county court to desig
ward In supI lying regular jurors when the county
court has failed to discharge its duty. when the
persons designated have failed TO attend, or when
jurors are repaired in chancey courts or other courts
not having liar jurors or when special iuries are
the court to designate the persons, and to direct
the sheriff to summon them. In neither OF these
cases has the sheriff any other duty to perform
cept the ministerial duty OF summoning the persons
designated by the court
montng Jurors under the foregoing provisions. when
the selection devOves on him. shall be governed by
The rules herein before prescribed for the regulation
3999.)
At first view this section would seem to Indicate
that there were provisions in the foregoing sections
for cases in which the sheriff wou have the right
to select jurors. But we have seen that In all the
cases specified In those sections for the selection OF
jurors the duty of designating tbem devolyes uvOn
one OF me ohgr OF me Is d Ina I'm every soe3
OF the court in summonng them what then, Is
referred to In section 1899 when 1t is assumed that
there cases in which the selection OF jurors may
devoye on the sheriff. We have seen that the pri-
mary object OF the law is to secure good and lawful
men, as jurors. To effect this the responsibility is
thrown, FIRST on the county court and then upon the
other courts. The law presumes that the justices
select good and lawful men, for the regular juries
And 1t presumes that wien for any reason, Jurors
are needed IN courts where there are not regular
jurors the presiding judge is best qualified to desig
nate the persons to cons itute such 1ures. In such
cases the responsibility is deyolved on the presiding
judge but IT was not attended, by imposing this
spOnsibility on him, that he should In every cas5
s1mmSnSd By the sheriff. 1t is Obvious that such
literal Interpretation of the law would often be i'm
practicable. From necessity he would have to rely
often upon the information of others In making his
ections of persons to be summoned. 1t would be
wholly Impossible for him to nave the necessary
personal knowledge of the persons of a county to
enable him 10 designate the Jurors without availing
himself of the Information of those on whom he
would rely. IL would be compliance with the law
to designate the jurors In that way.
But The law was not intended to
restrict the court even to that mode
of selecting jurors. II he should have condolences in
the sheriff of county, instead OF designating the
persons in advance to be summoned he might direct
him to summon panel, relying upon his fidelity In
selecting good and LAWFUL men, and when so Sc
lected and summoned by the sheriff, and approved
by the court, the paramount object OF the law would
be complied with. IL was 10 reference 10 such mode
section 3aq9 la the selection of jurors. when that
duty devolves on him, to be gov rned by the same
rules prescribed for the government OF the county
court In selecting the regular jurors. Hence, to In
sure faithful discharge OF this duty, so In
trusted to him by the court II is made contempt OF
court by the sheriff II he knowingly selects ncompe
tert or eXceptOnable jurors and punishable accord
of duty imposed uLoR him by the court In this
way the law has prescribed double guaranty
for securing jurtes OF good and lawful men" 1t
follows that und the proper construction OF the
law the responsibility is Imposed upon the court In
the selection of all jurors except the regular panel
designated by the county court, and the duty thus
imposed may be discharged either by designating
them, or he may direct the she riff to summon a
panel and then adopt the panei as jurors. Under
this view of the law there error In the pres
tnt in the designation by the court of the per-
sons to be summoned as jurors.