The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1881-11-04


of his neighbors and equals
The constitution OF the United
States-the supreme law of the
state, and OF the United States,
section 2, article 8, says: "The
trial OF all crimes, except in cases
Of impeachment, shall be by jury
Article O OF the same constitution
says: "This constitution, and the
laws OF the United States, which
shall be made in pursuance there
OF, shall be the supreme law OF the
land !; aud the judges In every state
shall be bound thereby, anything
in the constitution or laws of any
state to the contrary notwithstand-
ing.r II, then, the constitution of
the United States be the supreme
law, and applies In the trial OF Grim
inal case in "a state court, it settles
the question. But, it may be said
that these provisions in the consti-
tuition OF the United States have
application only to trials in the
Federal courts. BE this AS it may,
it settles the great principle of the
right of trial By jury, IN all cases,
by American law.
The constitution of Mississippi,
"bill OF rights,n article 1, section
Z, declares that: '.In all prosecu-
tions By indictment, or informa-
ton, the accused shall have a
speedy and public trial, by an i'm
partial jury of the county where
the oficnse was committed Sec.
tion II, Of this article of the state
constitution says: The right Of
trial by jury shall remain inrielate.n y
This broad and emphatic declara.
ti0n 0fthe constitution OF the state
Is in harmony with the constitution
of the United States, in its appli-
cation, aud amplitude, and cannot
be distorted nor misconstrued. 1t
is but the echo of that unlimited,
declarative right, by common law,
as quoted from Judge Blackstone,
that, in all legal trials, or investi.
cations, In which q defendants
"property, liberty, or person." is
put in jeopardy, he may of right,
demand investigation (triaD by ga
jury OF his neighbors, aud equals y
The trainers Of tho constitution
have guaranteed this right in as
emphatic, forcible, and Ineligible
language as could have been used !;
and the Legislature of Mississippi
have not, to my knowledge, at.
tempted, at any time, to deny or to
abridse it.
Section 2,222 oftle present code,
in reference to trials in ciril cases,
says: "On or before the return
day of tho process, either party
may demand u trial by jury"
Section 1926, is in these words
"Any defendant, In a criminal case,
before justice Of the peace, may
in like manner as 10 civil cases, de-
mand u jury, and thereupon the
justice shall proceed as in other
cases where a jury is demanded" )"
The words of the statute are, ''axy
defendant in criminal case;r aud
not, any defendant in a criminal
case, charged with q misdemeanor
only; which would have been the
words used, ii it had beon so in.
tended. ain any criminal case, y
be it felony or misdemeanor, the de.
feudant Is entitled to a jury, in like
manner as Ia civil cases.D 1t is not
denied that, In all ciril cases, the
defendant IS entitled to a jury.
What, then, is meant by ssin like
manner as in civil cases p Simply
that, as in all civil cases the de.
fendant is entitled to a jury, so
likewise, in all criminal cases Is the
accused, fortiori, entitled to trial
by jury.
| II it had been the intention OF
the codifier of the statute to limit
the trial BY jury, before y justice
Of the peace, to the accused in a
case Of mlsdemeanor, would he not
have said soi Would he not have
said: "Any defendant In crimi.
nal case, before Justice of the
peace charged ,oith a ssisdemeanor,
only, "may, in like manner as In
civil cases, demand juryr
Owing, no doubt, to the fact that
the constitution of the state de.
clares the right of trial by jury in
language SO simple, direct, and
positive, the authors of the code ol
1871, did not leave this question in
quite 80 clear a light as does the
code Of 1880. 1t would seem thai
the author of this code, being mind
ful Of the misconstruction, by some,
Of the code of 1871, as to the ex
tent Of jury trials in a Justice court,
has attempted to declare this M
, limited constitutional right in Ian
guage SO direct, and iutelligible,
I that 1t is not easy to imagine how
any one, not to say lawyer, of or.
, dinary understanding can miscon-
J strne 1t.
II anything more be necessary
TO establish the right, by law, Of
the defendant, before Q Justice OF
the peace, to trial BY Jury ''in all
casess--as we'll Of fclonies as misdc.
meaaors, l need only give those sec.
tions Of the code which establish
this right, In their proper order.
Section 2,220. Any defendant in
a criminal case before q justice Of
, the peace, may, in like manner as
4. Ill i