The Washington critic., 1886-01-25
THE DISTRICT JURY SYSTEM.
Full Context OF the Law and Its OBJ
jectionable Features.

snare OF municipal duty ana support
ing the courts, but it is the length of
time they are kept from business that
they complain of. The Criminal
Court has three terms in year, com
mencing on the first Mondays of March
and December and the third Monday
in June, the latter term being of about
five months duration. There Is no in
termission between the terms, and one
only ceases where the next begins.
There Is no term shorter than three
months, and 1t is this stretch of time
man is taken from his business, and
the latter made subordinate to
jury work that fault is found
with. Those amenable to the SER
vice have suggested that If modifica-
tion could be made in the law by
which the terms of the court were
monthly and the time of jury service
the same period, then the existing
trouble might be obviated.
The laws in relation to jurors and
jury service are somewhat complicated,
and 1t rarely happens that citizen
summoned into court to that duty
knows anything as to his competency
or qualifications to sit In the box, and
the extracts from the Revised Statutes
on that subject submitted below doubt
less will prove interesting reading. In
respect to those entitled to exemption
from jury duty section S75 says;
All executive and judicial officers Of the
Government Of the United States, commits
sioners of police and those connected with
the, Police or Fire Department, counselors
and attorneys-at-law, ministers of the gos-
pei and priests Of every denomination,
practicing physicians and surgeons, keepers
OF hospitals, asylums, almshouses and other
charitable institutions created by or under
the laws relating to the District, captains
and masters and other persons employed on
| vessels navigating the waters Of the Dis
trict and keepers of public ferries shall be
exempt from jury duty, and their names
shall not be placed on the jury list
The requisite qualifications are as
| follows:
Sec. ST2. No person shall be competent
to act as juror unless he be citizen of
the United States, a resident of the District,
| over 81 and under 65 years of age, and
| good and lawful man, who has never been
convicted Of a felony or misdemeanor in
volving moral turpitude.
1twould be supposed that jurors were
| well paid for their time and service, but
they receive only So per day, which is
given them under this section:
SEC. S73. Jurors are entitled to the same
| compensation as received for their attend
| ance In the Circuit Courts Of this District
| prior to July Z, 1888.
When found competent for service
they cannot escape except through the
consent of the Court and by virtue of
the following:
SEC. S74. A person may be excused by
the Court from serving on jury when, for
| any reason, his interests or those of the
| public will be materially injured by his at
tendance, or when he is a party in any
action or proceeding to be tried or deter
| mined by the intervention of a jury at the
term of which he may be summoned, or
| where his own health or death or sickness of
member OF his family requires his alb
| sence.
The Jurors are taken from list pre-
pared in accordance with the section
following
SEC. s5l. Until otherwise provided by
the legislative assembly, the Supreme
Court of the District may, by orders In gen
eral term, from time to time, designate
necessary officers or persons to make the
list of jurors for service in said court.
The present commission to prepare
the lists is Messrs. John A. Baker,
Matthew G.. Emery, M. w. Gait, Sam.
ucl Cross and J. IT, johnson, and it was
only recently the box was replenishcd
nnder their supervision, and when
filled the box is supposed to contain 720
names. The manner in which the
commissions duties are to be per-
formed are defined as follows:
SEC. $50. The names on the lists shall be
selected, as new as may be, from among
| the citizens of the several wards or districts
of the cities OF Washington and George
town, and the three divisions of the District
outside the limits of said cities, formed by
| the Eastern Branch of the Potomac Riyei
and Rock Creek, in proportion to the nun
ber of the inhabitants residing therein re
spectively.
After the selection the following
direct in what way the names should be
placed in the box and what done with
IL:
Sec. 1853. The names selected shall be
written on separate and similar pieces o
paper, which shall be SO folded or rolled
up that the names cannot be seen, and
placed in box. to be provided for tha
purpose. ,
after being thoroughly shaken shall b'
delivered to the clerk Of the Supreme
Court for safc-keeping
SEC. $50. After the requisite number o.
jurors shall have been drawn, the jury bo,
shall be again sealed, and remain in tn,
custody Of the clerk.
Many persons have never known tn,
process Of drawing jurors, which will
be explained to them in the sections
below.
Sec. s55. At least ten days before tn,
commencement of each term held as TIN
Circuit Court or Criminal Court, respect
lively, the clerk shall publicly break the sea
Of the iury-box and proceed TO draw there
from the names Of so many persons as ar
required.
vice in the special term sitting as a Crimina
Court, the twenty-three persons who's
names shall be first drawn shall constitut
the grand jury and the twenty-siX person
whose names shall be next drawn shall con
stitute the petit jury for that term.
SEC s61. The names OF persons draw
shall not again be placed in the iury-box TO
the period OF two years.
SEC. s62. II the persons selected as juror
do not attend, the Court may order tn
Marshal to summon Others possessing tn
legal qualifications to supply the deficiency
In case the box becomes eXhauste,
the court sends out into the commute
to make up jury by authority of tn
following
SEC sG3 II at any time there should nc
be, by reason of challenge or otherwise,
sufficient number of jurors to make up tn
panel, the court shall order the marshal /
summon us many talesmcn as are necessar
for that purpose.
SEC. SD. If at any time It shall occur tina
all of the names in the box are drawn on
at any term of the court before the LIST da
OF February the court may order the mai
shall to summon from the body of the DIE
trict twenty-three citizens, having qualities