Evening journal., 1891-03-23


notes to Blackstone had pronounced the
rule repugnant to all experience OF ,
human conduct, passions and under
standings which could hardly, in any age,
have been introduced into practice bv
deliberate act Of the Legislature The
speaker emphasized most forcibly the
difficulty Of securing unanimity upon
any subject. lie said it implied lament.
able ignorance, or want of heed Of the
nature Of man.
Unanimity Wrong
Unsnimity was wrong in principle,
and made a travesty of justice. The
enormous advantage held by the defend
ant over the plaintiff was pointed out.
The latter had to achieve the well nigh
impossible task of satisfying every mind
upon the jury The former. no matter
how bad his case, had but to secure one
juror Most persons know" said MIR
Washington, "whether it is difficult or
not TO secure this one juror, perhaps q
special friend, or under obligations to, or
IN the power Of the man who wants him,
or who has some grudge against litigent
who don't want him, or who can be ap-
preached Or perhaps ne is
another Pat Powers of a
juror who immortalzed himself in
the city Of Covington by refusing 10 vot
either wsy for the reason that lie did
not know 'aither OF the parties and
didnt propose to take sides Then came
the hung jury, and the annoying. costly
delays familiar to every one. In the
hand OF one man was placed the power TO
block the courts, and the unanimous rule
resulted in parody on Justice He
challenged any Of his auditors to demon
strate the wisdom or utility OF putting
the unanimity Of one solitary individual
upon par with the unanimity Of eleven
| others"
The Majority Principle
Mr. Washington then proceeded to de-
| fend the wisdom of allowing nine men
ont Of the twelve TO decide in civil cases.
In the courts OF last resort, In spite of
/ the mighty interests committed TO them,
the majority rule prevailed. The
majority principle pervades everything
Of judicial or political nature, entered
into questions upon which the very life
Of the Republic rested, ard yet this ridic
ulous rule was allowed to stand. 1t was
| illustrated In the convention, when
majority of one could change the
| organized law and thus one man has the
power to do what would affect millions.
| The unanimity represented by the aver
| age verdict, he said, existed only in name
! Not one in ten represented the honest
| convictions Of every man on the panel
/ In nearly every case there was a surrender
OF conscience by some one or more In
both civil and criminal cases the unani-
NOUS verdict too often represented dis
| honest compromise In numerous in
stances he had heard jurors admit that
they had added together the various
periods of time in the penitentiary voted
for by each and had divided the result by
twelve This was alleged to be uuani-
nifty. He called il jugglerY, Forsythe
and the report of the English commission
appointed ia 1880, were quoted along
| with numerous authorities to show that
there was q strong sentiment ia favor OF
doing away with the unanimous rule. He
also called attention TO the fact that
with the increase Of intelligence it would
be all the more difficult to secure unani-
nifty. The three -fourths rule in civil
cases and in criminal cases below the
grade Of felony prevailed in Texas, and
similar provisions prevailed in the Consti
tutions of Nevada. Colorado and Cali
fornia. In other states the question Of
abolishing the unanimous rule is being
agitated. He summed up the objections
to the unanimity rule as follows
The objections Summed Up.
First-It is repugnant to man and *
human experience.
second-It renders the administration
Of justice far more expensive than II
should be-
Third-It is productive of many delayi
and frequent miscarriages os justice.
Fourth-In respect to litigants, them
selves, it is harsh and oppressive in its
operation, greatly increases costs ant
attorneys fees, consumes much VALUABLE
time, tends to loss of evidence, and is no
infrequently productive of bitterness
! between the parties.
Fifth-It is an unmitigated sham, II
this that the alleged "unanimity
exists only in name, and is all the NOR
offensive for being part Of the machin
:. cry Of justice.
Sixth-It is an invitation to corrup
\ practices. for but one juror need b
secured
= In conclusion, Mr.. Washington sal
that the unanimous requirement illul
trated how a custom once establishe
I, lives on for ages after the reason whic
Il established &c is past and forgotten.
:. q great paved court at St. Petersburg,
! | solitary sentinel treads a beat of abor
;, 100 Yards, relieved every few hours. Gel
/, erations OF Russian sentinels ha'
y marched there day and night, throug
y storm and sunshine, with nothing
Y guard. For generations no one kne
why this sentinel was posted there. +
cent search among the archives Of Il
q War Department has revealed the hoa
secret. Catherine, wife Of Peter Il
n Great, had caused sentinel to be post
4 there to guard her tulips. Since th'
empires had risen and fallen, palace al
4 hovel had crumbled Countless millio
had played their parts in the drama
life. monarch, serf, queen and courtie
good and bad had all passed away; b
Dc there had been no break in the steps
be the grim sentinel So the requirement
Of unamity, a belated relic of forgott
/, and barbaric form Of trial by witnessC
Is became incorporated, without reason
OF support It, in the English system Of ju
in trials ia civil cases, and had been hand
er down as though it were one Of the jew
nd OF the race. II ought to be abolished.
10
= Court OF Chancery.
on The March term Of the Court Of Cha
nd cery for New Castle county was open
Of In the county court room this mornii
a Chancellor Willard Salisbury and AS
,e- ciate Judge Ignatius G. Grubb were on. !
T., | bapcb rlarf Charles n McWhOrter "