Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1878-05-25
The Orangeburg Juries.

IL ''o I1oH" " "c ooTHW 81 COnsHtcrc:
AT the October session of the Court
of General Sessions, for the County of
Orangeburg, Judge Cooke discharg.
ed the juries, setting aside the jury
list prepared in January, 1877, MS
illegal. This necessitatcd action on
tie part ofthe Legislature to provide
for jury list in place of the one thus
set aside. Early in the last session,
therefore, | int rodrced bill on tn
subject, which became law December
20, 1877. The first section of this
| Act is as follows:
"SEc1IoN I. That the Board O f
Jury Commissioners for the County
Of Orangebury, shall prepare now
jury list for the said County, as soon
as practicable, after the passage Of
this Act; and that grand an,! petit
Jurors shall be drawn from the list ),
prepared to serve at the next ensuing
sessions of the Courts of General ess.
ions and Common ilc:ls for said Coun.
ty; and that the grand and petit Jurors
SO drawn shall be held and taken to
be lawful Jurors for the courts af,re-
said. in like manner as if the said list
had been prepared during the mo nth
Of January last"
This section, in its last clause,
| (Which refers to "the courts afore.
said,' in unmistakable contrast to the
preceding clause, which refers simply
to the January sessions of those
courts) gives to the jurors 50 drawn
all the rights, powers and duties of
Jurors under the general jury laws
of the State" in like manner Il. fthe
said list had been prepared during
the month OF january" 1877. In
accordance with Is visions, the
list was prepared, and grand and
petit jurors drawn in December,
1917.
Ii has been the uniform practice in
this unity to draw the grand jurors
IA year from the jury list prepared
during January OF the precc ding
year. This arose from the fact, that
the fist session of the Court of Gen.
e.al SESSIONS in each year, com none. q
Oh the first Monday i'll Janunry, while
the law requires the jury li-t To bs
prepared durin Z the month Of ianu.
airy. Consequently. the clerk is,u.,
the rrnirc for grand juror before tn,
middle Of December, "iot las, th.n
fiji cen days before the com II .nccm ant
OF the first term of the court in e.ch
year; Gen. Stat, p. 7-i6i; and the
Board Of Jury Commissioners draw.
the grand jurors for the next ensuing
year i'll the latter part OF December.
In other counties of the State, it mts
be otherwise; since Orangeburg is the
only county in the State whtT5
regular session of the Court of Cow
ernl Sessions is held in the month of
January.
At the May session of "ur Court.
Judge slnckey hell that both grand
and petit jurors should have been
drawn for that session, from tho list
prepared i'll January, 1873. As Il
consequence Of this ruling, the grand
jury in attendance, drawn from the
list substituted for the list of January,
1877, was discharged; and in cou-
formity with this vi.w of tho ct,e. the
petit jurics were declared to be irrega.
lar, because the statute provides, that
when grand jurors are to be drawn,
they shall be drawn ut the same time
AS the petit jurors, the 6rst eighteen
names drawn constituting the grand
jury, and the next thirty-,i the
petit jury.
This is the matter about which SO
much has been written, with full
garnishment Of com ment, criticism
and rhetoric.
SAMCEL DIBBLE.
Orangeburg, S. g., May Is, 1873.