The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1889-09-07
OUR JURY SYSTEM.

EDITOR BULLETIN In every
country where the jury system is in
vogue-except the Hawaiian Islands
- jurors are drawn for the panel,
from lists of voters or taxpayers,
by some process which leaves the
personnel of the jury the subject of
chance: i.e., by lot, which is the
only fair method. Here, the draw
ing is regulated by Sec. /, Chap.
xvii, Laws of 1870, which reads:
each Governor, in concert with
some Judge of Court of Record,
shall prepare scml-annually, in the
months of March and September,
list of names of fifty persons
residing within their respective gu
bernatoria divisions, who, in the
opinion of such Governor or Judge,
are fit to serve as jurors ~"
This is amended by Sec. 5, Chap.
NXXVII., Laws of lSSS,as follows:
1.-The duty heretofore imposed upon
the respective Governors relating
to the preparing of jury lists and
the drawing of juries is hereby
transferred to the Chief Clerk of the
Su creme Court for the Island of
Oahu" BY method of "dhsting-
uishing" (iudicially speaking) our
Supreme Court have decided On the
now celebrated case where the At
torney- General challenged the entire
panel, drawn when the "Chief
Clerk" was in Ameriea) that the
"Chief Clerk" means any clerk of
the Supreme Court.
So here we have the questionable
system presented, of the rights of
litigants in all the most important
cases of the kingdom-to say moth
ing of the rights of those crlminally
charged with matters perhaps in
volving the question of liberty or
entrusted absolutely to q panel
of men "preparcd' by any of the
| Clerks of the Supreme Court, with
out redress or remedy in case of
miscarriage from any cause-dnt-
mas, csrelessness, bad judgment.
wrong information, or otherwise.
If il be answered that experience
shows there is no fear,from such pos
sibilities, the reply rests in the very
case aforementioned, wherein the
test was made by challenging the
: panel. The average man would
hesitate before being convinced
that n panel of twenty-four men,
fairly drawn. could embrace so
many lately discharged Govern
ment employees and so many Known
opposers of the Governments po-
licy, on notorious matters which
were then pending for adjudication
by and before the said panel. 1t
has been said in eXplanation-and
as an alleged fact it was an open Sc
cret at the time-that the list from
which the panel was prepared"
Ito use the word of the statute)
was furnished technically by the
Marshal, but really by junior
2 clerk in his office, who, by the way,
: has since been discharged for violat-
: ing the secrets OF the office, in d.
vulging information to parties
= against whose interests certain judi
I rial papers passed through the said
office in their regular judicial
course.
While such an explanation, il
true, may entirel y exonerate from q
i moral standpoint any one who is
# legally charged with the duty O.
Y providing jurors: and while it was
. never claimed, so far as we know
that any ''interest" attached to any
: such circumstances connected will
d jury drawing as might be mildly
called strong coincidence or re
g markable exception, as the cast
might be: yet the admitted fact o
the possibility of such coincidence
: or exceptions affords cause for scrl
e Gus reflection on the part of all in
N terestGd in the purity of the admin
J. istratiop of justice, the rights o
litigants in our Courts Of Record
. and the higher rights of any so I'M
e fortunate as to have their liberty o
&c lives adjudicated upon by nine mel
Y out of twelve, prepared by an,
# such possible process. And tn
- danger of abuse creeping into th'
Il preparation of the list is tenfolc
y intensified by the fact that nine mel
" out of twelve give verdict here
d instead of the entire twelve, as else
. where. 1t is true that the words 0
- the statute, Sin concert with som
" Judge, etc." may be claimed as
e check: but this is theoretical, ra
S Their than practical, as any on
Il knows who has the least experienc
OF the present imperfect system.
The seriousness of the whole mat
IS ter is recalled by report which ha
n gained some publicity to the effec
e that certain native Hawaiians know
g as thick and thin adherents to th
. missionary" party have been call
ed into council by certain gentleme
N in "high places" aud instructed t