The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-05-13
In the Jury-Room.
The case seemed clear enough to boy

The case seemed clear enough to boy
| 10 years old.
The plaintiff sued the defendant on a
debt. The defendant admitted that he
contracted the debt, and that he had
never paid it. He tried to show, as an
offset, that he once lent plaintiff some
| money, but he failed to even establish
the date of thetransaction. The amount
sued for was 500, and the Judge charg-
ed us to return verdict in favor of the
plaintiff
! When we got settled in the iury-room
and elected foreman, he said:
| ''Well, | suppose we must return a
verdict for the full amount?"
well, l don'tr' replied one of the
| jurors-a man whom | had selected as
an honest, conscientious juror.
But isn't it a plain caseP'
| mo, sir! The plaintiff had two
| lawyers, while the defendant had but
one. There was nothing fair about
| thatr'
But the Judge charged US to return a
verdict for the amount" observed an
other juror.
''Sposing he didr' exclaimed an old
man on his left; s'if the Judge knows
more about this case than we do, then
what are we here for?"
I (Which of 'em was the plaintiff. any
| how?" solemnly inquired a solemn
juror whom had seen sleeping through
most of the trial.
| ''The red-headed man, of course" re-
piled a young man who wore very tight
pantaloons and chewed plug tobacco
with great ambition.
''Was it! Why, l thought it was the
fat mani" exclaimed juror No. 6.
The foreman suggested that we mark
on slips of paper the amount each juror
thought the plaintiff entitled to. His sug-
| gestion was followed, and the amounts
ran from 10 cents to S400.
'It seems to me-" he reflected, 'that
the defendant either owes him S400 or
| nothing"
81 don't believe he owes him nuthin',"
replied one of the twelve.
But you heard the evidence?n
Hang the evidencen'
Some one suggested that we add up
the sums marked and strike an aver
| age.
Another suggested that we return a
| verdict for the defendant
| A third offered to flip cent and head
or tail for the S400 or nothing.
A fourth wanted some one to tell him
if the debt hadn't been outiawed.
1t was finally discovered that we
stood five for the plaintiff and seven
for the defendant and the foreman
wanted to krow what we should do.
'Well," SD one of the seven, ''if we
agree with you in this case, will you
agree with us in the next?"
He couldn't promise, and the leader
of the dissenters declared that he would
remain in that room lifetime before he
| would agree with the five
And at the end of an hour there were
eight men willing to return verdict
for S75.
At the end of two hours there were
seven men who didn't care cent and
! five who We're in favor of the defend
ant.
At the end of three hours six men were
in favor of $4OO and the other six were
playing poker.
In another hour two of us favored
| S400 and the other ten had made up
| their minds that at least two out of the
three lawyers ought to be in Jail. We
finally marched in with the announce
ment that we couldn't agree, when the
juror who didn't know plaintiff from
defendant raised his voice and pro-
! tested:
Judge, we could have agreed all
right if anybody had told us what the
| case was about! think we orter be
furnished with diagramsr'-M. quad IN
| Detroit Free Press