Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1880-03-19
Natiumal Affairs.
GENERALIZATION.
Text Of Judge Fields Late Protest in
the Supreme Court.

| ages OF tWcnly-One ana Sixty, VINO are en-
titled to vote and hold Office under the
Constitution and laws Of the State, are liza
bic, with certain exceptions not material tC
be here mentioned, to serve as jurors. The
judge Of each county or corporation Cour
is required, to prepare annually a list OF
such inhabitants Of the county or corpora
ton, not less than one hundred, nor exceed
ing three hundred in number, las he shall
think well qualified to serve as jurors, being
persons of sound judgment and free from
legal exception The name of each per
son ON the list thus prepared is to be written
on separate ballot and placed in II box I,
be kept by the clerk of the court. From
this box the names OF persons to be sum
moned as grand and petit jurors oftho county
are to be drawn.
The law in thus providing for the prepare,
ton of the list of persons, from whom the
jurors are to be taken, makes no discrmina
ton against persons of the colorcd race
The judge Of the county or corporation
court is restricted in his action only by the
condition that the persons selected shall, in
his opinion, be "wcll qualified to serve MS
jurors be "of sound Judgment" and "rrcc
from legal exception" Whether they pos
sess these qualifications is lett to his deter
limitations and, as shall attempt hereafter
/
charges this duty he is responsible only To
his Stale, whose officer he is and whose law
hi is bound to enforce.
The petitioner, j. d. Coles, is the Judge OF
the county court of the county of Pitlsyl-
vania in Virginia, and has held that Office
! for some years. II is not pretended that in
the discharge of his judicial duties he has
ever selected us jurors persons who were
not qualified to serve in that character; or
who are not Of sound Judgment, or who Were
not free from legal exception. 1t is nOtcycn
suggested in argument that he has not at all
times faithfully obeycd the law of the State
yet he has been indicted in the District
court of the United States for the western
district Of Virginia for having ON some I'M
designated day in the year 1873 excluded
and failed to select as grand and petit Jurors
citizens of the county ON account Of race,
color and previous condition Of suryitudr.
| The indictment does not state who those
citizens We're, or set forth any particulars OF
| the oflcnse, but charges it in the general
words of II definition. The District court,
nevertheless, issued bench warrant, upon
which the judge was arrested, and refusing
TO give BAIL be is held in custody to answer
the Indictment. lie, therefore, petitions for
II ccrtiorari 10 that court TO send up the
record of lis proceedings for our eXamina-
ton, and for n writ Ofhabcas corpus, alleging
| that It's action was without jurisdiction and
| that his imprisonment hereunder is unlaw-
| lul, and he prays TO be released thcreirOm.
The commonwealth OF Virginia has also
| presented II similar petition, declaring that
she is injured by being deprived Of the SER
vices of her judicial officer, by his unlaw-
iul arrest and imprisonment
1.-THE District court had no jurisdiction, ~
alleged, Of the matters charged against the
county Judge; if they constitute no public
Oifcnsc for which he could be held, his arrest
and imprisonment upon process issued upon
the Indictment were unlawful, and his petit
ton should be granted
II has been settled by this court upon full
examination, and after some conflict Of Opil-
ion among its MEMBERS that the writ OF
habeas corpus is mode provided for the
exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, when
ever by any unauthorized action of an in
ferior tribunal, whether it be by its order
decree or process, Il citizen is restrained OF
his personal liberty; and that certiorari
will issue in connection with the writ, to
bring up the record Of the inferior tribunal
| for examination. In such cases this court
will look into the record, 10 determine not
whether the inferior tribunal has erred in
| its action, but whether il has exceeded Us
| jurisdiction in the imprisonment Of the peti-
TONER (EX parte Ycrger, 9 Wall, S5 EX
partc Lange, IL Ibid, 1863
The indictment is founded upon the fourth
| section of the act of Congress Of March /
1875, "to protect all citizens in their civil
and legal rights" which declares; "I'hat no
citizen possessing all other qualifications
which are or may be prescribed by law
shall be disqualified for service as grand 81
petit juror IN any court Of the United States
or Of any State, on account Of race, color %
previous condition Of servtude; and any
officer or other person charged with any
duty in the selection or summOning O
Jurors, who shall exclude or fail TO summon
any citizen for the cause aforesaid, shall, on
conviction thereof he deemed guilty Of d
misdcmeanOr, and be fined not more thar
five thousand dollars"
In what have to say, shall cndcayor {,
show that the District court in issuing III
process for the arrest ol the defendant, anC
in imprisoning him, exceeded it, jurisdic
ton list, because, assuming that the act o
| 1873 IL constitutional and valid Legislation
thc Indictment Describes no oliensc undo
it, but * void on H. face and ~, bccius
that act in the section cited, ~ fur a. it re-
latcs 10 Jurors IN the State courts IL uncon
stlutiona aud void.
The indictment merely repeats the g,n
eral language Of the statute II ayers thn
the defendant being judge Of Pitt'ylWn
county and an officer charged by law viii
the selection Of jurors 10 serve IN the Cir
cult courts Of the county, excluded an,
failed 10 select rs juror, on acroun
Of race, color and previous condition q
seryitudc, certain citizens Of the count,
possessing al other qualifications prescrihcD
l,sts ...fs No.
thus excluded, and Of course designate II,
specific lraycrsablc ollcnsc. IL is csscnlm
81 valid Indictment that il should SET fDrtl
the olTense, with such particulars Of time
place aud person Chat the accused may know
the nature Of the charge and be able IA pre-
pare 10 meet H. n j. not enough to rcpea
The definition Of the ollcnsc in the genera
language Of the statute, and then aver TIA
the defendant has been guilty Of the Oilcna
thus defined, without other specification. /
is not sufficient, for example, 81 charge in a.
Indictment that the defendant has bcof
guilty Of murder without stating the tim
aud place Of the pifcnse aud the name %
the person murdered, or, ir his name i've nm
known, giving such % description as Il
identity him. An Indictment without sucl
specification would he merely collection
81 pointlcss wsrds Til. doctrine Is only
common learning " D. luund 10 the morn
books Of the law; il + on the pages thumb
cd by tle student in his first lesson h
criminal procedure.
The Constitution, in o. Sixth amendment
strikes with nulliiy all such vague accuse
tons ~ are embraced iu this indictment II
declares, repeating in this respect the doc
trne Of the common law, that, in ali crlml
nal prosecutions, the accused shall "be in
formed Of the nature and cause Of the nc
cusation' against him, and this means that
all the essential Ingredients 81 the olicna
charged must be stated, embracing with
reasonble certainty, the particulars Of time
place. and person or property. u h. only
by such information that The Aroused VIII
be- enabled b. prepare his defense, aud avail
himself Of bis aequitial OrcOnyiciipn against
any further prosecution for the same cause
"l'hs principle" says Bishop 10 his treatise
"that the indictment must contain an allie
CATION Of every fact which j. legally esaen'
tial b. the punishment b Doe inflicted, per
wade the entire system Of the adiudged law
Of criminal procedure. II Is not made ap
parent 81 our UNDERSTANDING hV "a single