Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-10-25
"A JURY OF HIS PEERS


When some three or four years ago,
the REGISTER began, with great per-
sistency and elaboration Of argument,
to urge upon the Legislature of West
Virginia the Inauguration of radical re-
form in the jury system, it met with
criticism that we were seeking to Grip
pie the Magma Chdrta of our civil liber-
ty, and to undermine the very bulwark
ofAmerican citizenship. While unable
to answer or refute the examples Of in
efficiency, injury and wrong we dis
closed in the system-while showing,
indeed, that our existing jury system is
one of the most oppressive institutions
of our civil government and so ill-suited
to the ends of justice that it is fast be-
coming the butt Of ridicule all over the
civilized world-we were met only with
the response that with all its lmPerfec-
tions it was too sacred a thing to be
touched-even to be improved.
Within the past few years, however,
a number of jury trials Of national i'm
portance have attracted the critical at
teution of the country, and the same
evils that affiict US in our State ma
ehinery have stood out so prominently
before the whole world-the same ex-
amples of monstrous extravaganza in
jury trials; of bribery or personal preju-
dice; of ignorance to properly weigh
the facts of q tIial-these things, We
say, are rudely dispelling the halo of
sanctity with which men are accus-
toned to invest the verdict: of jury;
and the thinking classes OF every conn.,
munity are coming to the conclusion
that the system upon which we rely for
obtaining justice is lamentable failure.
We need refer to but one, and that
the latest, instance Of the farce that is
constantly being enacted under the
head of trial by jury" We think
the Star route trial, which did not cost
the people much less than half mil
lion Of dollars, demonstrated very con-
clusively that it is practically impossi-
bic to convict q shrewd rascal possessed
of abundance Of money, under the pres
ent jury system. In this case the GRIM
inals had laid the sure basis Of vitiating
the verdict of the jury, even had it
been unanimous for conviction. They
had not attempted to bride the jury to
acquit, but used the agents Of the Gov
eminent that was prosecuting to
offer bride to convict. Thus the
verdict was rendered illegal
and void by the very attempt at bribery
by the fact that jurymen had talked
with an outside party in reference to
heir verdict. Suspicion was turned
away from the defendants, by this
method, and put upon the prosecution,
while even if the jury had been thus
DO ught to convict, their verdict would
have been invalid.
Such illustrations of the imbecility of
the jury system have created a wide
spread revolt against it, as well as an
urgent demand for making radical re-
forms. II one State should take the
lead In this-if West Virginia had be-
gun the work when the revision OF our
statutes was begun by the Legislature
two years ago-we would now be lead
ing the van in one of the grandest re-
forms of the age.
In one of our leading periodicals for
November, an able writer, Mr.. ALBERT
STIcKNEY, deals with the popular delu.
sion that every citizen shall be tried by
- jury of his peers" in manner that
shows how phrase that thus fistters
the ear may serve to preserve a very
useless and oppressive system under the
idea that it Is an assurance Of justice.
Mr.. STIcKNEY points out some fthe
ineongruities Of the system in the fol-
lowing paragraph:
This system Of having lawsuits heard
by men who know nothing OF law, this
mixing of one lawyer with twelve lay
men, and calling them court, Is about
as sensible as to try to drive wild ele-
phant and thoroughbred In double har-
ness. The combination Is not . useful