New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-03

2s, 900 to 10000 with extra panels each year oi
| ten months"
what proportion Of each panel of 100 jurors Tor
each court reports for dutyg"
"The Judges are very we'll satisfied If they get
three iuries of twelve men each out Of every panel
of 100 subpnnaed Sometimes only four or five
ont of hundred answer to their names and then
il is necessary 10 order an extra panel, while the
court meantime adiourns and litigation comes to q
compulsory and very expensive halt"
TRICKS OF IRREGULAR SERVERS.
"What becomes of those drawn who do not APP
pearf
ASK the officials, and they won't tell YOU hut 1t
is the result of the various swDdes of the subpoena
servers and others. There is only one legal service
on Juror when drawn-that by the sheriff. The
service by the Commissioner of Jurors Is not man
daory; but there is gang OF men hanging ABOUT
that Office who make business of serving notices
free OF expense to the Commissioner, and often
without his knowledge. They are irresponsible 10
him, but they stand in with somebody IN MS
office. They pool issues too and divide the spoils
which, calculate from experience in the past 10 ne
about 81 900 month for ten months of the year
This is the way they work it: Say panel OF 100
has been drawn for Part /, Supreme Court copy
s'given the gang before it is sent to the sheriff;
and list is made ont Of men whose occupations
and addresses would indicate them to be rich,
active business men, who would be desrous OF
avoiding this irlsome duty. The average banker,
broker, bank president or stock speculatOr cannot
give two weeks of his time without cost of hun
dreds of dollars TO himself. He better afford to
pay $3.50 fine 10 the court. or $50 to the Commis-
siOner, and is always ready to get off cheaply by
paying the of notices 70 clear ont. You seef
Well, as was saying, subpGnas are made out for
this class of men, and the irregular servers go to
the selected victims. They serve them with many
apologies about unpleasant duty to perform, call
their attention to the fact that the court Is one
with big calendar as all the courts are and
that the unfortunate juror will probably have to
serve a whole monitor fortnight at least They
don't hesitate if the victim doesn't take the hint to
tell HIM very plainly that though the
penalty IS $50 If paid to the Commissioner
of Jurors and $3.50 to the court, with
chance of imprisonment and q certainty OF
compulsory duty the following month; STILL it can
be fxed' Occasionally server, though not the
legal ono, will get from $40 TO $50 from victim,
and he will turn in 81 S of it to the pool After
securing the money he will tell the victim that an
other service will be made him in few days. but
to pay attention to it. 1t may como by Hussey's
Post. OF a sheriffs officer may present it. but he
must regard it OF consequence, as he VIII now
be made all right with the Commissioner Of Jurors
and the court He will be told. besides, that the
sheriff gets regular fec whether the juror served
attends or not the second service will not be worth
further attention. so, when the legal service Is
made tho juror, who has already paid to be let
off cheerfully accepts the Sherif7s subpoena and viz
tuously says he'll be thore OF course the poorer
people on the list not worth playing this elab-
orate game upon. This class is left to the Sheriffs
servers for puckina and poor this class is, a
occasionally pays a 50 bill for being returned Ivy
the subpgna-server as not served 1t Is in this
way chiefly that the original panel is reduced
TO embarrass the court"
Do the servers never get detected "
"Yes, the Sherifs servers do, but there is nobody
to detect and punish the gang who pretend 10
come from the Commissioner of Jurors Office.
Sheriff William c. Conner during his administration
dismissed four deputies for frauds in serving sub
pGnas and l hear hat thus far Sheriff Bowe has
dismissed three"
% Does this payment to the server exempt man
for the year ~
Bless You, no. 1t insures his being drawn again
very SOON if not the very next month. Would you
expect tho bancO-d aer to exclude the suckers
from his place When pays he goes the
list tor early service again Then he gets mad and
probably goes to the Office of the Commissioner and
makes plant, and then,f le takes the proper and
rather broad hints which he receives, ne paws to be
excused Tor the year III Is BtneGiDy uAfu WIN
someone connected with he office in a lef-handcd
way This abuse was once brC,sht to the atten-
ton OF the judges who supervised n drawings, and
they put a stop to it for time"
Are there many professional jurymen ~
ayes, and some of them very honest fellows
after fashion They 90 directly to tho Commls-
sioner and say they out Of work. too Ill
disabled to do manual labor, and beg to be put
the lists for each fortnight, and in this way many
are furnished with pretty constant work at far
wages. But it is horribly demorazlng to the
courts"
Certainly your story * not calculated to encOur-
age people 10 engage in litigation
Not III New-York County. 1t is not so bad in
Kings. which has also a special law better than
ours nor in the other counties OF the STATE iii winch
the juries are drawn under general law. That Of
Ncw-York County has got TO be amended, for it is
leading from bad TO worse"
"And how anendedT
"That is a question for wiser LEGAL mind
than mine. But should say primarlly, abolish the
Commissioner of Jurors and his ohice. Danish the
Judges from the drawings to winch they pay and
can pay lttle or no attention, drop fhe sheriff and
County Clerk, and make the empanelling of jurors
tho sworn duty of the clerks of the supreme oupe-
riOr. Common Pleas and General Sessions Courts,
without additional salary but proper fee for sub
Iena-servers employed by the clerks"
QUIET DAY At CONEY ISLAND