The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-01-16
OF COURSE.

As matter of course, and as every
: bodyconidently expected itwould do, tn
Tribune opposes Judge Thurman's bll
to provide for the selection and pay
ment of jurors. The bill is based on
sense Of justice, and its purpose is tt
cure an injustice and evil, hence
would necessarily incur the opposition
and enmity of our unesteemed morn
ing contemporary. The Tribune tries t.
encourage itself by publishing what L
said against the measure By couple O
lawyers, who are known as the mos
radical and unreasonable members o.
the bar in their unrelenting and viciou;
hatred OF the Mormons-ah hatred which
is honest on the part OF one of the gen
tlemen, but on the part of the other is
inspired by the fact that the Mormona
will not employ him as an attorney.
The opinions of men where judgment
and sense of right are admitted
to be warped and twisted by prejudice
do not carry much weight at any time.
In this instance, the two lawyers quoted
openly base their objections 10 the
measure on the fact that 1t would tend
to check the outrageous business in the
District Court of snatching men up on
flimsy accusations and on doubtful
evidence declaring them guilty and in
fiicIing upon them severe punishment.
One of the gentlemen did go so far as to
say that the Legislature had no right to
interfere in the matter OF providing for
the selection of jurors, Congress having
already legislated on the subject. The
gentleman, who is understood to be
warm admirer of Governor Murray, for
the moment must have forgotten that
only last Tuesday His Excellancy
told the Assembly that "Those who en-
gage to say that Congress having under
taken to legislate upon certain subjects,
relieves you of any obligations to legis
late upon them and like subjects, are
mistaken. The argument is specieus,
and as dangerous as it is fallaciouS."
We are inclined to believe that this
very bill has already caused the Cover |
nor to wish that he had not put those |
words in his message as they close what |
would have been taken advantage of as |
l convenient means of exit from very
light box in which he is being crowded
But Judge Thurman's bill in no re-
pect trenches upon the right ofCongress
in no manner runs counter to any la W
nacted by the national legislature. 1t
imply follows and continues the Po-
and law in the same spirit of that en-
Congress provided for obtain
lg what it deemed a sufficient number
f persons to serve as jurors, and as it
ell short of the requirements there
an be no objection to supplying the
in the same manner that
ne original number was obtained. The =:
United States Supreme Court based its
firmation of the open venire order of
ane in the Rudger Olawson case on the
lct that the jury list for the year
aving been exhausted, and the Legis-
Congress-having failed to
rovide a method for selecting jurors,
lie common law must step in or there
ould be a failure of trials-a suspeD-
on OF courts. That opinion clearly
oks to the Legislature to make provi-
on for the contingency which arises
hen the names are all drawn from the &
Try box for the year, and it implicitly
,cognizes the right of the Assembly to
gislate on the subject.
The Legislature must not be
ightened or bulldozed by what vim
ictive lawyers and viciously partisan
ewspapers may say. The bill is ar ex-
client one, and II IS timely. The doings
the courts during the past few
lonths have demonstrated how neces-
Try it is that the bill be passed, and the
over to convict persons, innocent or
lilty, taken away from an official who l
as the effrontery to declare under
ath that he selects men for jurors who
re known to be prejudiced against the C
arty to be tried. Pass the bill, and let
lie Governor accept the responsibility
multiplying 1t or making it operative. :
he shall conclude that it will inter-
re too much with the privilege OF
lose who are just now engaged in
aging wicked and unrelenting war
of IL
nd shall therefore veto the measure,
t him merit and receive the execration
the 600 or 800 men who will be re-
hired to serve as grand and petit jurors
lring the next two years without paw.
be community can stand it if the
overnor and his associates can.
A NOVEL INJUNCTION. q