Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-02-06
THE CITIZEN. SUNDAY, FEBKo Ahi D '''-'
Abolish the Grand. Jury.

Ii is very evident that some radical changes in our present judicial system
 will come out of the bill for the cre-
 s,;on of County Courts. now pending Tn our Legislature. That some changes are requisite and desirable seems to be generally admitted but as to what they shall be has given rise toa considerable diversity of opinion.
 In our discussion of the County
 Court bill, few days since' we LOOK
 occasion to suggest the abolishment of the grand jury as means Tor re- trenchmeut. promising at some future
 ner;od to enter more fully into our reasons for advocating such course. The grand jury has not only, as we then asserted, outliyed the causes which made it a necessary safeguard for tbe liberty of the subject as against inc aggressive tyranny of the English Crown. but it has become useless burden to the body polite, being not only an unnecessary tax upon the revenues of the country, and to those indiyiduals who are compelled, re- gardless of their private interests, to Serve upon it for an entirely mad eouate compensation, but it has 6eieriorated from its once high n osition as the palladium Of human liberty, into huge stumbling block, ohstrncting the administration Of hu- man justice.
 This may be regarded by our read CTS as a rather startling assertion, but A little consideration of the subject on their part, will serve we think 10 sat isfac;orily demonstrate its truth.
 As our law now stands We have but two terms of this inquisitorial body each year, and should the County Court bill be passed creating a court always open, II will be necessary, as We have before indicated, to make some limitation as to the number of terms such body shall assemble, or else subject our counties to an expense winch would be simply unbearable. Hence it will be seen very readily thai a large proportion Of our crIm- inals will be subjected to several months confinement in the county ,ail. either from the unbailable char acter of the offenses with which they are charged or their inability to give bonds while awaiting the action of the grand jury. This operates not only as s great burden to the county in pro- yidipg for the holding Of prisoners, but is also a crying injustice 10 the criminal himself, who Tn many in- stances is shown, upon trial, to be falsely accused, and who if guilty Is entitled to c speedy determination O. his fate, and the benefit of the testi- mony of his witnesses while the events are still fresh in their memories. The adoption of the information and presentment method would do away with all unnecessary delays and as sure the accused speedy trial, and also prevent the disappearance of witnesses, which, whether arising iIOIu luClI DClbk NoAA HNAS~ 'ANA CA from ordinary business reasons, is in itself an evil very much in need of a remedy.
 While public opinion nowadays takes the place for which the grand jury was originally intended in pro tecting the liberty of the subject, the latter body but too frequently, through its being confined 10 hear the testimony against the prisoner and none in his favor, places itself in op- position to its original purposes by the accused of his liberty long after he has been tried and ac- quilted by the public.
 We have thrown together these few comments, not as being at all exhaust i've of the subject, but to draw, if pos sIble, the attention of our law givers to a serious consideration of the mat ter, in connection with thei- other proposed judicial reforms; and also for the purpose of inviting a full dis cussion of the question from our con- and others interested.