The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1890-03-01
AN ESSAY ON JURlES.
Ify AntishaIut,s.

~, suggests the ldca OF attempting
a paper on "trial by jury"
Rltchic is not ovcrburdened with
venera,ion for iuries, Judging from
his classification of the men COM
posing Observation-Disclosures, parti-
sans, mutton-headS, higots, smart
Alecks, interested parties, pseudo
omniscicnts, and FOOLS" with only
two or three lcvcl.heads to the
dozen.
This classification accords pretty |
well with my own observations. |
should say, however, that the fools
outnumber all the other classes COM
bined.
No doubt, when jury trial was
first instituted it very well suited
the condition of things whose de-
mand brought it into existence.
Judges invested with great powers
were notorious for prejudces against
certain classes of criminals and for
subservicncy to the will Of rulers.
The jury stepped in as the minister
of mercy, not the vindicator of
justice, to curb the severity of the
judge. 1t was just the thing needed.
Times have changed, and so have
the characters of judges, until it
has become a question whether trial
by jury in any free country in the
present age is the best method of
securing q merciful administration
of iusticc--whethcr bench of three
or more judges, whose training and
experience qualify them to weigh
evidence intclligently, is not more
apt to do what is right towards an
accused person, than a jury of
twelve men, of whom only small
minority, at most,is "levcl-hcaded." :"
would prefer the judges every
time; unless seeking to escape de-
served punishment, in which case it
is usually easier to hoodwink jury.
If juries were composed wholly,
or even mainly, of level-hcads--
common-sensc men, capable of ana
lying and Judging nationally of the
merits and dcmerits of the evidence
| prescn,ed-my aversion to them
would be much diminished. Or, if
| iuries, composed as they usually
are, invariably bestowed upon the
accused the benefit of all doubts,
leaning always, when unable for any
reason to maintain n precisely erect
posture, towards the weak, should
think better of them. But juricS
are often, perhaps mostly, not only
made up chiefly OF men incompetent
for such duty, but sometimes allow
their doubts to operate in favor of
the strong, while crushing the weak
on evidence too slim for the convic-
ton of IN accused fellow being in
the Judgment of conscicntiously
mcrciful man.
!, have never understood how, in
this country, the jury list is made
mp. Elsewhere an alphabetical list
is kept OF al! persons eligible to
serve, from which sufficient num-
Der is selected in alphabetical order
for each term of court. Thus, fol
one term the selections are made
from names beginning with A, tho
next term from names beginning
with b, and so on until the alphabcI
is exhausted. In case there is mo-
sufficient number of names begin
ming with any one letter, then two
or more letters are taken in regular
sequence. BY this method of sclcc
, ton jury work is pretty evenly dis
| tributed, and does not fall with un
{ due weight upon particular persons
. Here, somehow or other, there is ;
, conspicuous lack of distribution o
| jury duty, some men not exempt b.
law, and for whose exemption ther'
, is no good reason, escaping entirely
/ while others are made to do dut,
term after term. Why is it thusI
, In making up jury of talesmcn
after the regular panel was exhaust
ed by challenge or otherwise, TIN
practice of the Hawaiian Court wa
little singular" one occasion
Instead of selecting frsm bystand
crs, the officer went around tow
and subpmnaed, at their regula
avocations, men for jury duty whit
were known TO be unfavorable Il
, the party on trial. am not aware
, that this was ever done more thar
: once, and once is certainly quite
/ enough.