DeSoto times. (Hernando, Miss.) 1879-1898, 1890-05-29
THE JURY SYSTEM.
oohuitions Under Which 1t Becomes
Gratifying Success

Gratifying Success.
having at last served as iuryman |
should like to be allowed to say a word
IN regard to the much discussed ques-
ton; rs the Jury System Failure?"
Under certain conditions, | believe
1t Is an unqualified success.
! was the seventh man on the iury
which decided the case of Pepper against
Jones in Supreme Court Chambers, Part
In, week before last,
Peppers family had had the scarlet
lever, and he wanted to collect twenty
thousand dollars from the landlord,
claiming that it was improper plumbing
which had caused the fever and the con-
Sequent loss of one little boys hearing
and the others hair.
After we were seated in what they
are pleased to call the "box took a
look at the other eleven good men and
true. There were five very intelligent
looking men among the eleven; the
others were $3.50. -Four of these five
were excused shortly afterward, because
they knew the plaintiff or defendant, or
had had business relations with some-
body who knew something about tho
case. | may not have this exact, but
they were excused because they knew
something, anyhow; and their places
were filled with men better qualified.
The lawyers we're men of great ability,
the witnesses were plumbers, physicians
and scientific men. We listened to
their testimony very much as we would
| listen to Wagner's music-impressed
with the Importance of hearing every
particle of it; understanding mono of it.
The taking of testimony occupied a
day and half, andwhen it was conclud,
ed, the jury was probably the. worst
ratified lot of men ever assembled to.
gethcr in one place; but their faces
never lost that solemn, judicial eXpres
sion proper to men who are called upon
to decide momentous question without
| fear or favor, and with absolute justice
| to all.
When the last witness left the chair
| the foreman and several others took W
| their hats; but after the defendants
lawyer had been summing up for al
hour or two, they put them down again
This summing up helped the jury i'm
mensely 1t showed them that a whole
mass of testimony, which they supposed
must be minutely considered, really hat
no reference to the case at all. Then
| when the lawyers we've through, thu
Judge further explained and elucidatet
matters, so that when we filed out w
really did have some notion of what W.
we're going to do. When we got to thu
iury-room the foreman thought we ha(
better take vote and as we had moth
ing else to do we adopted his suggestion
The result was eight for plaintiff, fou
for defendant.
The fifth juror wanted to know if W.
could find a verdict for the plaintiff
without having the landlord of the hous
arrested for perjury. He was informed
that we could, and the next vote showe'
nine for plaintiff.
The eleventh man said the defendan
was a poor man. and had had goo
deal of sickness and big doctors bills
and he ought to have verdict. Some
BODY told number eleven that it was tn
plaintiff who was the poor man, not tn
defendant; and the next vote Shove
ten for the plaintiff. So we stood 10
some time; ten to two. Then one of tn
stubborn two addressed the Jury, an
said that every bit of evidence Shove
that the landlord had built his house i
the best possible way, and that if ther
was sickness in the house, he WASH
RESPONSIBLE for it. He said that an al
wise Providence, and not plum bers, sen
scarlet fever into the community; h
said that the whole thing was specl
lation on the part of Pepper to max
Jones pay for his Pepper's) misfortune'
1t was a partnership scheme betwee
Pepper and his lawyers, and they relic
upon their ability to work upon tn
Jurors sympathies to carry it through
That was his opinion.
We took another vote, then, and stoo
nine for defendant, three for plaintiff
Another vote brought over the othe
three, and we rendered what | belieV
was just verdict.
This experience convinced me th'
the jury system is success when thel
is one man among the twelve who hf
eloouence enough to induce the othe1
to render the same verdict that tt
Judge would have rendered without an
iurv at ll.-Morris Waite, in Puck.