Omaha daily bee., 1884-07-17
.JtJPJES NJ RYMEM.

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ifcations of jurors in all the states are
reasonably high" This may be true, but
the fault lies in the practice Of. selecting
Jurors without regard to the proper quail
iications. Such indeed has been the
practice all over the country, and partic.
ularly in Omaha, until quite frequently.
The fault lies with the officials and not
with the laws providing for the manner
of selection. 1t is a gratifying fact, how.
ever, that in Omaha there has been dur.
ing the last two or three years a gradual
and perceptible improvement in the Sc.
lection of grpnd and petit jurors. The
reform 80 far has been in response IL
the demand OF the people, who. are tired
of seeing the professional jurymen and
the irresponsible nobodies constantly
filling the jury box simply to pass away
time and draw pay. Such juries can.
not, and will not do justice, and
hence their ridiculous or outrageous
verdicts, as the case may be, while caus
ing little or 10 surprise, excite great in
dignatlon. Such j%uries afford a profitable
occupation for the professional jury fixer.
1t seems, however, that the commission
ers are at last beginning to realize the
Importance of selecting grand and petit
Jurors with some reference to their moral
and business standing in the community;
and if they succeed as well in the future
as they have in choosing the jurors
of the present term of court, the
public will have no reason to find fault
with them.
1t is too often the case that reputable
business men, when drawn as jurors,
endeavor to avoid their duty to the pub
lie, and the court is too apt to accept
their excuses and dismiss them. Such
men should remember that if they will
not perform jury duty they become re-
sponsible to a large extent for the poor
composition of %juries. Upon this point
Judge Pitman says: "It is a cur.
rent notion that the reason why 80
few first class business men are
found upon our juries is that
they are excused by the courts.
The returns we have given show that
such men rarely get upon the jury lists.
In the exceptional cases, where such men
are returned to serve, it is no doubt one
of the most important duties of a judge
to brace himself up against yielding to
any but the best of excuses Boards of
trade would do well not only to indicate
il as a point of honor that none of their
members should seek to shirk this grave
duty, but to see to it that their
class be properly represented. And here
lot me add that the general hardship of
the jury duty is er-estimated. l have
repeatedly had business men, at the end
Of q term, confess to me not only the sat
isfaction they have felt in performing
this function, aid the interest they have
felt in their work, but their surprise that
it was SO little onerous."
Judge Pitman very properly advocates
the better treatment of jurors 30 that
their duty will be performed under more
agreeable circumstances and more COM
surroundings. However,
improvements in this respect
are gradually being made,
and the discomforts of jury service are
not half so severe as they were some years
ago. In the olden times the jurors were
kept without food or fire until they
and it was only at a comparatively
recent date that Jurors We're allowed to
separate during the trial of q criminal
case.
The judges Of the superior, circuit
and county courts, in Chicago, propose
to hold a conference this week to discuss
a proposition to improve the Jury system
by calling for the attendance of jurors
during only one session each day, from l
to 8 p. m. Under the present system
the courts open at 10 o'clock, and at least
an hour is taken up in the hearing of
motions, granting orders, and other bust
ness, before tho regular trials begin.
Thus the jurymen are compelled to lose
nearly the whole morning, which they
might ~protitably devote to their own bus
mess. 1t is the same in Omaha, and the
Chicago plan no doubt would be found
to work equally as well here. 1t is q
matter worth considering by the judges
and the members of the bar. Under
the proposed plan the Chicago courts
will devote the morning to motions,
orders, &C., and the afternoon to jury
trials. 1t is be believed that by this di-
vision of the day, business will be expe-
dited, and jury duty will be less onerous,
and consequently business men will not
be so apt to make excuses for not serving
as jurymen. This of course will be the
means of securing a better clasa of jurors.
The Chicago Me,Os, in urging the adop-
ton of this plan, says that the advantages
are 80 obvious that it is difficulty to under
stand why it should meet with any oppo-
s%ition; the whole judicial system will be
benefited by it; lawyers will have the
morning to devote to office work or mo-
tions, judges to the hearing of motions
and the examination of a uthorities, and