New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-18
THE JURY SYSTEM.
FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS CITED

now REFORM DAN BE BROUGHT ABoUT--cLEaEs
AND JURrEs IN THE MINOR COURTS CoRRUPrEn
by UNsCRUPULoUs LAWYERS.
Almost without exception the judges and lawyer,
who have alluded to the exposures by THE TRrBUyv
of the abuses Of the jury system and Of the men
who make a business of fixing" juries and wit
nesses have approved the course pursued by tia
paper as one calculated to relieve thA
administration Of justice of great blot and i'm
pedment. Clerks of the various courts have
called tho attention of judges to the articles "a
coniTmatOry of statements which they had ma
yiously made regarding the very abuses named and
in somo cases have spoken Of the bsnefu InA1eno.
of the persons indicated in tho articles ury-6xe
and bogus bondsuneD.
Thomas Boese, Clerk of the Superior Court for.
chilly presented the facts corroborstye of THz
TRIBuNE's statements To Chef-Justce seigwick
and others, and Judge ArnOux, of the same court
to whose attention the operations of the "chiei
of the gang" had been called by law.
yer who denounced him IN open court, stated tina,
he should certainly make it very unpleasant for tina
man OF any Of his tribe whom he caught trying any
tricks in his court. Judge Cowing, of the Court Of
General Sessions said that there was in his opinion
no greater service to be rendered by any newspaper
than the reform Of the jury system and it was ons
courts themselves. At the time of saying this he
awaiting the return of jury whose verdict he
said 1t was impossible to forecast, although the
evidence in the case was clear and conclusive and
left doubt in his mind of the guilt of the prisoner
and the degree OF hi, crime. The judge also de-
clared that he had frequently noticed
the chief of the gang" hanging about
his court room, but supposed he was one Of
the many idle Oungers who go there to hear trials
in which they have special interest. lie readily
recognized him BY the description in THE TRIBUNE.
A lawyer prominent in the criminal courts stated IN
his blunt way that he had long known the "chief
of the gang" whom he called by name, to be "a
fraud and dead-beat." who could not be trusted TO
" Tx" jury because of lack Of sense to do it, and
it was giving him credit for ability that he did not
possess to attribute such influence to him.
Another lawyer said Ii is not merely IN bug civil
actions and extraordinary trials for homicide that
junes are fixed and 1t is not true that jures aud
witnesses alone are fixed some might infer.
Court clerks in the minor courts are corrupted, as
well as jures, IN the smallest cases IL Is my ex-
perleDce that tho juryixers seek the smallest sort
of game and thar they are as often found hunting IN
the Marine Court In the richer preserves OF the
Supreme, Superior and Common Pleas courts.
Marine Court. OF course the amount involved
was not over $1,000, TO which amount
litigation in that court Is restricted, and
consequently the amount of money set aside 70
fix jury in that case could not have been very
large. But it was evidently enough to fix the clerk
of the court if not the jury and the trick vas tried
bat detected and defeated it, too. The case was
before Judge Snnott, and came up for trial shortly
before his fatal illness, and at time when his
dition. physically and mentally, was such that DO
did not pay much Intelligent attention to the run
ming of his court. My client was Jew and his OPP
pOnent all Irishman. My suspicious were
aroused against the clerk. who excused
nearly ali the Jews on the jury panel from duty,
but held the freshmen vigorously When Oar
case was finally called, and it became necessary 10
select jury, there were only about sixteen namea
left in the box TO draw twelve jurors from, and the
Jews the panel had disappeared entirely |
quickly got up from my seat while the clerk was call
ing the jury and approached him. Not single name
had ne put in the box! The slips on which tho
names of the panel were written lay before hun III
neat pile and outside the box All lie had 10 10 was
to pick them up one after another, and call them
out If they had been taken from the box. at once
objected to the panel. called the judges attention
to the operations OF his clerk and TO the
fact that after reducing the panel by excusing
men unwarrantrbl{' ne was se teit i,,
self. The Judge at once ordered the OFT, and
my opponents were afterward afraid to come TO
tral on the merits of the suit The case was nnaiiy
settled by their paying up. won't name the clerk
for publication now, but you can nave the name Tor
future use If necessary, and as guarantee, as you
say, OF good faith"
former official of the Commissioner of Jurors of
flee, In long conversation on the general abuses OK
the jury system, cOrrob0rated this statement 10
the corruption OF the minor courts and said that II
the frauds there not large they certainly
numerous enough. The managing clerk OF lrm Ok
lawyers doing large business in the District courts
asserted that the abuses even extended 10 tLese
small courts when 1t became necessary 10 try IA
before jury. In such cases, he said If jury was
not present III court tue clerk would send out a1i
hunt up six men--slX only being necessary-ln the
vicinity Ofcourse they were obtained at the near.
est iouuging place, whether stable bar-rOom, 3ld
naturally of the very poorest material for tho
service.