Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1881-10-13
Judge EuclS's Charge to the Territorial
Grand Jury.

maton as ne may deem proper as 10 tic
nature Of your duties and any charges
for public ofienses returned to the
court are likely to come before the
grand jury.
Upon entering upon your duties you
should first appoint clerk whose duty
it shall be to keep accurate minutes of
the proceedings and the evidence TAX
en-, and at the close Of your delibera-
tions these minutes should be given to
the prosecuting attorney unless for
special reasons they are given to the
court All your deliberations should
be secret, and no one should divulee
your proceedings, except in your writ
ten report to the court. Much harm
is sometimes dono by grand jurors,
talking upon the street and elsewhere
of what occurs in the jury room. No
one has a right to question you as to
what is under consideration by the
jury, and if an attempt is made to do
SO, it is your duty to inform those do
ing SO that you are not permitted to
talk of those matters. If they persist
in doing SO you should report them to
the court for punishment for contempt.
You should permit no one to be
present during your session except the
witnesses and Prosecuting Attorney.
Your foreman is authorized to admin
lister the oath to the witnesses, and the
Prosecuting Atty is authorized to be
present with you for the purpose Of
examining witnesses and giving you
legal advice. After concluding your
examination Of witnesses on any erin
inal charge brought before you, if you
deem it of sufficient Importance to be
brought to the attention Of the court,
you should il the offender be known to
you find an indictment, if not known,
you should report the facts in pre-
sentiment to the court.
In voting on an indictment you
should vote by ballot, and the vote be
written, bill or no bill. No one, not
even the prosecuting officer should be
present during the consideration Of
any matter after the evidence is taken,
and no one should disclose outside Of
the Jury room what was said by any
juror or how any juror voted on any
matter before you. Twelve
should agree on an indictment or pre-
sentiment for a criminal charge, and
the prosecuting officer should prepare
any presentment or indictment found
by you. If at any time you desire
more instructions upon any matter
than is given you by the prosecuting
officer you are at liberty to come into
court and receive it from the court.
In the consideration of the matters
which come properly under your care
il should be borne in mind that your
action is of the utmost Importance to
the welfare Of society. Grand jurors
who by carlessness and negligence al
low their duties to be but poorly at
tended to, or not attended to at all,
Justly bring the g,and jury system into
disrepute, but when their duties are
performed thoroughly and uupartially as
was contemplated by the founders Of
our government, the system is, and
will continue to DO the safe guard OF
the people, against lawlessness and
crime.
I Gentlemen Of the jury it is the gen
eral duty Of every citizen to see that
the laws are enforced, but the Law
makes it your special duty to see thai
the laws are obeyed and that all pub
, lie officers discharge the duty faith
fully. 1t often happens that officers
elected to execute the laws take it up
] on themselves to determine what law
, they will execute and what they viii
permit to be disregarded. This is al
, wrong The people elect the legisla
cure to enact our laws, and the publ
officers to execute them, not accordin!
!, to their own ideas, bat as they ar
! found upon our statute books. So
I sometimes happens that records ar
! improperly kept, prisoners improperl
. taken care Of, roads are allowed to bt
; come impossible and neglected becaus
4 the officers whose duty it is to atten
| to these matters do not do their duty