Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-11-27
WILL IT BE REMEDlED
rHK0RASBJuRT's COMrLAIS IBuUT
ENOg NOTHTNG pITNESSss
Judge Livingston Relates How lie Conducted
Husiness While District Attorney. and
HAD only Those witnesses Surro,-
naed who We're material
TO tho Case-His Plan
Worth a Trial.

The grand jury report made last saturday
contains this paragraph
ave would respectfully call attention to
the great number ot witnesses returned ON
the bills of indictment who knew nothing
about the cases, and 10 examine all these Wit.
nesses on indictments that are ignored re-
quires great deal Of time"
Every grand jury for the past several years
who referred 10 this question at all made
similar reports, and as yet there does not ap-
pear to he any remedy for the evil.
The query naturally arises, who is respOn.
sib!s for the presence OF the Witnesses who
are subpWnsed at the commonwealth eN-
Pense, and when put under oath know moth
ing OF the cases on which they are called 10
testify The answer is either the district
attorney, the officer who suhTrnaed the wit.
nesses, the prosecutor IN the case, or the
magistrate who returns the case.
HOW 1T Is DONE.
The magistrate, 8s a rule, when ne returns
the case to the office OF the Clerk OF the quar-.
ter sessions court, puts ON the back ct the
return, the name of the commonwealth
Witnesses This return l. handed 70 the dis
trirt attorney and from 1t he prepares the in.
dlGtmen', and issues a subpu IA 20 the officer
named IN the return, When that officer
issues his subpoena his practice j. to put on
II the names OF all the PERSONS returned to
him a. witnesses, sud as matter OF course
the officer Who executes the subpoena will
notify each one that they Sre obliged to attend
court The experience OF the officers Is that
many persons they SuhTnned tell them they
know nothing about the case. The oil GERS
reply, W ith that We have nothing to dc.
Your name i on the subyuua and We must
notify you to attend" \ery ireguputlv after
the subpoena has left the district attorneys
hand, the prosecutor viii 20 to the officer
anu Tell bluI To put on tue subpoena certain
names, and the ObliElng officer Will put the
names on the subpoena without a-Certalning
| whether they know anything about the case
| II also happens that the oiliCer will hear
about somebody who knows all about the
| case, and his name goes on, without proper
inquiry. Each name on the subpoena means
| fifteen cents for the Cilcer, and As they have
| the reputation OF being tee-EraUbers they
| VII. not inquire whether the commonwealth
| needs the services of the Witnesses
II the district attorney would examine the
| cases returned to him before court wepk K.
| many unnecessary witnesses would be left
| al home, and the county would save the
! money Paid to those who know nothing of
the case on which they are suUIu uaed. That
officer says he has not the time 20 send tor
| the prosecutors, a. the bulk of the cases are
| returned 80 short q time before court that he
| has barely time 70 prepare the indictment
| and issue the subI,uuas.
| ID lFE LlNlNF~lbN = IlNN.
| In commenting on that part OF the grand
| jury report referring to this evil, Judge I.iv.
! Ingston detailed how he conducted the duties
| Of the Office OF dlstric; attorney as to the
| summoning OF witnesses. He said he found
it worked well, and although his term OF
| Office was during the war, and there were
As many, II not more cases, returned than
| now, the witness fees were not as large as
| now. His plan was to get from the magis-
| trate a list OF the witnesses who testified Al
| the hearing, with special request that they
| designate those who were material, His next
| step was to send for the prosecutor and when
| he called at his office he examined him and
| also learned from him what ne expected to
| prove by the several witnesses he wished
| moned except those who were essential to
| to prove the case.
Judge Livingston il concluding Lls re.
| marks 10 the grand inquest said he and his
| colleague had on several occasions talked
| over this growing evil, and they had been
| seriously considering the propriety of ap
| pointing county detective, whose main
| business It would TOO to see that none but
material witnesses were brought to court, at
the expense OF the county. They would not
| decide, however, gs 10 the appointment OF a
| detective unit. they saw how the incoming
| district attorney proposed conducting his
| business.
| THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS DUTY.
Any one who goes into our quarter ses.
siOns court must see at a glance that the wit.
nesses for tho commonwealth have not been
examined as to the testimony they shall give
before the case is called tor trial-except in
very important cases In cases where the
district attorney has a colleague II is iler.
ent. Here the examination Of Witnesses ~ a
rule is letttO that colleague. While il is true
that a large number Of the cases are return ed
to court in the few weeks preceding court,
the district attorney could remedy that ne,
gIect, in great measure, by i'm posing the
penalty on those magistrates who hold back
cases longer than the act OF assembly deslg
mates, and again the district attorney can use
his discretion in sending bills to the grand
inquest II he has not time to properly eX.
anime cases returned, he could hold them
back a term, and that would certainly give
him proper time to thoroughly examine all
the witnesses
That officer might also learn what the tssti-
mOny - IN each case returned il he would re-
quest the magistrate TO send him an abstract
OF the testimony Of material witnesses. All
the magistrates take down tho testimony,
and It would put but a tribe more labor on
them to transmit that testimony to the is.
trIct attorney. In some cases hearings are
waved, and the district attorney, to pTuperiy Y
understand those cases, not having any tas-
t!mOny returned, would have 10 send for the
prosecutors.
The judges certainly deserve credit for
their Efforts TO keep down the expenses OF
the quarter sessions courts, but they need
the assistance OF the q istrlCt attorney in their
efforts TO be- successful. 1t is 10 be hoped the
incoming district attorney will be equal tn
the occasion, and adopt some method that
will prevent complaints in the future in the
report OF the grand jury a. to Witnesses who
know nothing OF the cases on which they are
summoned.