The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-01-27

have al ways cherished for 1t. No conquest,
political uphcaval or revolution has ever pre-
vailed upon them to abolish it, 1t was one Oh
John by the Barons at Runnym edo that he
had deprived them Of their ancient and I'M
memorial right of trial by jury. And IL was was
accordingly provided In Magma Carta mat
NO freeman shall be arrested or imprisoned
or disseized of his freehold unless by the law
ful Judgment of his peers or by tho Law of the
land" And this right has hecn tur ther guar
aneed by It's subse9uent rHiteratmt hnrtH IN az hs fs
ardent attachment on the part OF the fnSlsn
people has not been without many and most
weighty reasons. ,,,,,, ~,
the Judges md Attorneys.gener'u of Eng
land held their offices during good plens-
ure. and not as they must, In every. II ee'go'-
ernment, by the tenure Of good brhayi Or, or
some salaries were dependent on the uncneck-
ed caprice of the crown. and might be 1ncrehs-
ed or diminished according to the state OF his
| digestion.
Trnnsplanted i'm the New World.
Now, there is no maxim more gen
orally true than that power over mans
subsistence is a power over his VIII. Unoer
these circumstances what power was there 10
withstand the crown in the execution or his
schemes OF tyranny and oppression? ltmust
be An institution independent OF the crown
and in sympathy with the people me Jury
| perlections and very glaring some 'ot them
are, the English can never cease to honor The
venerable Institution which has SO often cham
pioned their rights and preserved their liner
| lies. What is more natural than that the En-
glish enigrants, their memories fresh win Inc
benefits Of this system, should not forget TO
transplant in the New world an ,III lnsaitut,oh e
ue in the Old. And when the American colo
nics attained their legal majority and deter
mined to break the tie of filial submission
|. o-l,x,~ 20 tt,nn
porate into their organic law guaranty OF
| its perpctuation. The federal constitution
provides In Article III, Section II, that the
| trial of all crimes, except In cases OF inpeacn,
be held in the State where the said crimes
shall have been committed, but when not
committed within any State, the trial snail
be at such place or places az the congress may
| pIemented by Articles V and vi in Amend,
| ment of the Constitution. mo person shall
| be held to answer tor n capital or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentmcht or
| Indictment of a grand jury, except IN cases
| arising In the land or naval forces, or IN me
militia when In actual service IN time or war
| or public danger. and "ln all crimina! prose
cutions the accused shall ENJOY the rlgnS 10
speedy and public trial by an impartial jury
OF the State and district where the crime shall
have been committed, which district shai,
have been previously aScertained ny law.
These provisions being, found to Apply 20
criminal prosecutions only, and some indig-
nation having been expressed at the OMISSION
of a guaranty OF jury trial in civil causes, a.
! So the sixth Amendment was inserted pro-
viding that "in suits at common law where
! the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right Of trial by jury shall he pre-
| served, and no fact tried by q jury shall ne
! otherwise rc-examlned In any Court OF the
United States, than according to the rules Of
the common law. The constitutions anu laws
of the several states were not less einphattc
In securing the right oftrial by JURY IN al
/ pf,,tn
The constitution OF South Carolina provides
in sweeping terms that the rishto trial by
Jury shall remain inviOlate."
Has the Jury System Outltved Its
Usefulness:
Having briefly glanced Mt the history of the
| Jury system and some OF Its essential features,
! let us address ourselves to the CONSIDERATION
| of u few questions, which for some time past
| have engaged the serious attention ana con-
sideration OF the most thoushtlIli men OF tie
age, and are gradually assuming such pre- por-
tiOlis as TO ngitate all classes of society has
| the Jury system outred its usefulness? 10
the ends OF justice and the interests OF SOC 'ety
| rcduire lis abolition? Can it not be adva 1ta-
georlsly supplunled in favor OF some y her
mode of trial which will unite In itself not
only the material advantages to be der yea
from the jury system, but also other desli ape
elements in which that institution Is unt rtu-
nately deficient. l shall attempt to am:Wer
| these questions In the Affirmative, although
the task is approached with some relucE nee,
born of a reverence for an institution W icli
has received the applause Of 50 many cc atu-
| rieS.
Advantages of the Jury System.
I shall first discuss scriatim the ad yam
tayes which have been claimed for the sys-
TEN, and afterwards sum up my ob]ecttons.
The first advantages claimed Tor the ir stltu-
tiOn is It's great antiquity, together witt, the
fact that u guaranty of pcrpctuation has hGen
inserted In all the great charters OF IiS,lsn
sidcration Is entitled to much weight. IT IS
with great prOpriety that we approach reFer-
e1,tly the Institutions whlc have come own
| to us from IN imm menlorial past. The fat that
they have survived the change of dyn a*ties
and the wreck of empires, and what Is iore
the successive revolutions Of social and politi-
cal ideas pToHes thGm fbe Sand Do j., It. not
highly possible that an institution whlc wns
emnently fitted to primitive state OF :oclety
may prove utterly inadequate to meeting m
crcasing wants Of progressive and etllght'
ened people, the colnpleXity- of whose rela'
tions and necessities demand correspoi ding
ly progressive and enlightened ren edles.
Moreover is it not probable that sjStem
winch produced benefcent 1T results In lnon-
archy, at u time when the interests OF the
crown were antagonstic to the rights. OF the
subject, may prove but Il huge imbecle In nm
rSPnD,c %epe Sm tha poweIL ppepIc proc
| A second advantage is its proved vaiue IN
times past as a safe guard against Governntn-
tai oppression. IT will be observed ths tnlS
argument Is based ON the past rather tc IN the
present. There can be no doubt bnt th:lt at II
! time when the nUnarchS Of England were
little less than despots, trial by jury was al
most the sole champion OF individual liberty.
The weight of the position rests on the double
assumption Of both power and inclination on
the part of the government To OppreSs Tie cll,
izen. \ government which merits the proud
boast of being of the people. for the people
and by the people, is destitute of any rersona-
BILE motive 10 conceive, or power to execute
plans subvcrsive of the liberty Of the citizen
by whose friendship it exists. The ballot;
has q piece of news to te periodically, which
imposes Il wholesome restraint on the actions
Of any ovcr-zealous offic;a al, with tendency
to tyrannize. The danger in this country lies
rather in too sIavish su omission 10 tne VoA
4 third advantage claimed for the sys-
tcm is that it accomm odates Itself to pub
lie sentiment, and that tE e jurors being drawn
from the community at large voice the Her-
dict of public opinion. II Is certain that an
institution which conforms TO public senti.
ment right or wrong, has always strong
hold on popular favor An enlightened pub
| lie opinion is generally safe guide in matters
of public concern, but IT. is qucstioEabl
| whether in matters concerning individuals,
or Il small part Of the community. 1t IS cXpe-
| dent to follow q public sentiment, which,
| from the nature of the case cannot be Sul1l-
ciently enlightened. The correct determine
tion of litigatcd questions requires kno"i-
edge of the particular facts OF the case when
can never be possessed BY the community at
large Besides, is not public sentiment con.
tinually In II state of tiuctuation and very OF.
ten materially in error? What power is 1t that
shields from deserved punishment the cold
bloodcd murderer who Stays his victim with VT
all punctilio and courtesy in the duel? The
argument that jury trial Is useful because II
is the tool of a public sentiment, founded In
ignorance, and based on the reports of Rumor
with her traditional hundred tongues, Is, to
say the least OF it, open to much doubt.
;, X fourth consideration which has been ad-