Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-01-17

Ax4 e
o0e - - ssfe-Gaar1e of cs&s.eneAip
N Eaxixnd snd the unihed enDtes = tns
p<svslses * nsus Gied ~ : iary Of
twelve Of yeur peerA uhzch = ofnsa nos
eempbnsn1. u yon sre secussd u
eeEsnaa erkmes o. mzsdsmsanoFa
Il i ~ : compliment bsc~nss - .
ruls. iauysss sssk - 81 ths jury box
With nsa uho aeknouisdss hAvlag no
epsnaon. and have nos Fead he
pspess- Tia dees net APPLY . Grand
Rspsdz. where The jasiss are mare than
ordinarily Intelligent
am nember Of . jury nysslf Just
noe.
There are several ii nds Of juries. and
oxsng 70 the rather confaslns manner
in which juriss are classified IN Eng
land. France and Germany. ] shall con-
ane myself mainly 70 this free and en-
lghsened country and Kent county.
The luriss OF Engisnd are similar 70
ours anyway. but the juries Of France'
Well. they have something 70 learn
over there in Johnny CrapAud's land
about juries. ere they become > kepuo-
lie like We are.
In our dear land-Kent county and
MIehigan-we have Grand, Petit, JUS
tce and Police Court jurieA The
Grand jury u used only ia this State IN
the United States Court. aud when =
man or woman is arrested for = crime
against the Federal Government, he
has his examination; If the evidence
warrants he is held 70 the Grand Jury,
which. If it tipds . "bill'' enutles hlm
or her to trial before petit jury. the
same as ID the State courts. The U. 5.
jury is drawn from the counties IN the
district in winch the court sits, and tho
jurors enjoy the pleased privilege OF
serving their country and UNFOLDING
the palladium OF liberty by being torn
from their business and families while
the term of court lasts NJ so much per
day and mileage both ways. The juries
OF Kent county and this city are divided
into circuit court, where civil and
criminal cases OF the county or State
and appeals from lower courts are
tried, superior court, where cases and
appeals from the police court and city
cases are tried, and police court and
| justice court juries. The circuit court
| juries are drawn from the poll list OF
the county, and consist OF thirty men,
bers who serve for the term-four
terms in year-March, June, Septem-
Der and December, At 81 per day and
mileage paid by the county. The
| superior court jury is drawn from the
| city and consists OF thirty members,
l A.. wa
also paid by. the county. during the
sitting of the court in each term, the
terms being similar to the circuit. The
police court juries are drawn as occas-
ion demands, all cases not being
the court room, commonly called ''pro-
fessional jurors" or business men from
any part of the city. The justice juries
in the lower courts Is scarcely adequate
ficulty to get men of real intelligence
to serve, and the ingenuity displayed
| to "get excused" would, il applied in
other directions, invent perpetual
motion" and square the circle"
Being drawn on a jury, and right here
let me explain what "drawn" means,
for fear you may think of the horrible
capital punishment of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. The super
visors give the court officers certain
number of names from their tax lists
every year. These names are placed in q
box before the terms begins and shaken
up, and then thirty bits of paper, each
| with q name on, are "drawn from the
box. These thirty are the lucky ones.
| 1t sometimes entails quite q hard
| ship to be drawn on the regular panel,
as the upper courts are termed-and if
| ever you have occasion to visit court
room during "tern" and see a lot of
men hanging about the corridors or
lounging about the court room, look
ing bored or as If they owned the city
hall, set them down as being on the
Irregular panel" Sometimes in import
ant cases the challenges of the lawyers
exhaust the panel and special is
drawn. Then you should see the Greg
ular" blossom out in his glory, and see
how compassionately he looks down on
| the special" To be taken from your
business for two months at time, even
If it is only from 10 q. m. to B p. M. IS
sometimes hardship, or to be CON-
| PEELED to give up your work or hire q
substitute to take your place of every
day work, is not pleasant, but it has to
be done, for the business of the people
is as needy of attention as any private
individuals, and they can catch you
in the upper court but once year,
generally only once in lifetime, and
not at all ii you are q soldier, lawyer
or doctor. shall give you some de-
tails of actual jury duty In my next.
| JESSE LANCE.