The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-04-18
Xifhurund nispatfh.
wEpYEsDAY........"APRiL To- io'o'
Eederal Juries.

OC
We rejoice that the United States Circuit
co,rt discharged the Jury which had been
smunelled for the trial Of Il. Ii. Nun
roap. Esq. We applaud Judges BoSD
and uuouEs for having performed this act
81 Justice. We had not surrendered the
belief that something would turn up
which would protect the innocent. But
we cannot concede that section so4 OF the
Revised Statutes Of che United States Is
not repealed by the act OF Congress OF
1879. Section S04 provides for the sum-
moning Of by-standers when the venife
has been exhausted without obtaining q
petit jury. This was proper under the ora
law. But read the new law. and Judge
for Yourself whether IL does not repeal SEC
ton sOi. An argumentum 40 income
nientii is not a good n where the IAN
p,,age OF the law is plain and unmistaka-
HE. The new law Is rs follows:
upors N UNITED STATES coUITs.
CHAPTER L~II.-Scction 2 provides ina
all United States ''iurors, grand ana petl''
including those summoned during NV
session Of the court. shall be pupic's
drawn from a box containing, al the 'iue
OF each drawing, the names OF not ies'
than 800 persons, possessing the quaiino"'
tions prescribed In section 500 OF the ne
yised Statutes, which names shall nave peer
placed therein by the clerk OF such our
and a commissioner, TO be appointed D.
the Judge thereof. which COMMISSIONS
shall be a citizen OF good standing resiolhs
In the district In which such court Is neiu,
and q ~welLknowD member OF inc pIino,p''
n~oliricol marty i'm the district in which the
conrf Is held opposing that to which the
clerk NAV belong, the clerk and sald conl-
missioner each to place one name in SAID
box alternately, without reference to party
affiliations, until the whole number re-
0uired shall be placed therein. But moth
ing herein contained shall be construed 10
prevent any judge from ordering .ne
names of Jurors 10 be drawn from the
boxes used by the State authorities in Sc
lecting Jurors in the highes courts ol ,ne
State and no person shall serve as a petlt
iuror more than one term in any one year,
and all iuries TO serve in courts after the
massage OF this act shall be drawn in con
formity herewith: Prouided, That no cltl-
zen DOSStsSilg I'LL otuti Yu"iihN"
are or NAV be prescribed by law shall DC
disqualified for service as grand or peti'
Juror in any court OF the United states on
account Of race, color. or previous d
ton OF servitude. Tribune Almanac Jo'
1880, page IL.
1t is a plain case, it seems to us, that the
law is TO be strictly followed. Otherwise
II will be rendered a mere nullity, as In the
case of the MUNFORD yenire. III the mar
shall NAV excuse such men as JOHN +. de-
zENDORF, or make return that they could
not be found, and then summon b~y-standers
to fill their places, the THURMAN law might
rs well be repealed. 1t will be seen thai
this law is very careful to specify thai the
court NAV order the names OF the jurors to
be drawn from the State box. Now, quo
ting after Judge HUGHES the well-worn
maxim, ElpresSio uniuS erctuSio est ate
RUS, is il not clear that section SO4 would
have been mentioned in the same connec
ton il Congress bad intended two laws
which cut each others throat to stand upon
the statute-book together: However, we
don't propose to argue the point at all.
We give the law and leave everybody to
Judge for himself what it means.