St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-05-10
The MIGHTY JUROR.
A Plane on Which Patriots
and Cpanks Must Meet
as Equals.
flow Jurors Are Drawn and
How Men Evade the
Summons.
1t Is Easy to Be Seen Why
Some Queer Vepdicts Are
Rendered.
Scenes in the Box and After
ward in the Drawn Jury
Room.

One of the duties required of every
citizen in this glorious republic is TO do
service as juryman. There is no man
In whom the true spirit of patriotism
iwellS but should be ready and willing
20 make some little sacrifice for the
honor which the badge of citizenship
eonfers; but, alas. jury duty does not
seem to fall within the line Of such sac
ritice. Every month there is term of
court, save the months of July, August
and September, and regularly at the
close of each month the sheriff and
clerk of courts put their heads together
and draw out of a small box containing
the names Of many hundred citizens
from so to 100 names. The sheriff
thereupon sends his minionS hence to
the byWays and highways to summon
the gentlemen whose names were drawn
from the small jury box. Personal serv-
ice is made on some, resident service on
others, and no service at all Oh class
of people who find it convenient or who
are lucky enough to be out Of town.
Personal service consists in reading the
summons direct to the person sum-
moned; resident service consists in
leaving the summons or copy thereof
at the residence of the individual
wanted to serve his country in the ca
bacity of juryman. On the second
day of the term the first day being de-
voted to the setting of cases on the cal
endaT) the candidates for jury duty APP
pear in court, and a motley aggregation
of humanity they are, being composed
of all nationalities, rich and Door, high
nd % a
upon the opening of court the clerk is
directed to call the roll of jurors. who
respond "Here!' at the mention of
their names. Long before this time,
however, many of "les miSerables"
busy themselves in an endeavOr, either
by hook or crook, to wriggle out of
serving as jurors. And SO the sheriff
and the clerk, and even the bailiffs are
besieged. impOrtuned and buttOnholed
up TO the hour of 10 a. m. in the hope
that some OF these officials will stretch
point and scratch their names from
the jury list. But their efforts are
jurors and jury service are infleXi-
bic, and must be rigidly observed.
The roll being called. then comes the
presentation of excuses, and right here
enSueS a picnic with a great big Z. Il
Will listen now to the excuses of ID
rorS," says the court, and Immediately
every iuryman in the room rises to his
feet and makes a bad break TO get
within hailing distance of "hlZzoner."
The bailitf pounds MS desk wildly in
his attempt to restrain the impatient
jurymen. and in the midst of the hula
ballO comes, in stentorian tones, from
the court: The gentlemen who have
excuses to offer Till please come for
from -
The squads then march in in columns
of fOurs, all others subsiding into their
seats.
The Excuses.
Then follow the excuses, and few of
them are herewith presented.
The COurt-to forlorn-looking indi-
vidual carrying a dicer swatbed in
Grape:
"What is your excuse, sir?"
The Forlorn Individuality mother
ln-law is dead.
The Court-Your excuse is not salts
factory; next gentleman.
The Court-To dapper chap with
Prince Albert coat, buttOnhole bouquet
and patent feathers:
Your excuse, Sir?''
The Dapper Chap Pm to be married,
your honor, this morning.
The Court (sharply)-You're excused.
The dapper chap waltzes out into the
corridor, removes his Prince Albert and
bouquet, dOnS another coat which
"cOve" has waiting for him, and walks
off whistling annie Laurie"
The next candidate who wishes to es-
cape the hands of the law is a young
gent with decided "h'English h'ac-
cent"
We'll, sir, your excuse?" inquiries
the court.
Pm h'alien, SIR"
How long have you lived in the
United States?"
Twenty year, your 'Onor."
Hadn't you better enlist under the
stars and stripes?'
Never thought of it. sir.'
The Court (surlily)-You can go, sir.
These are but few of the MANY ex-
cuSeS that the court has to listen to and
pass upon. Business excuses avail moth
ing. and the man who begins talking
business to the court is wasting his
words. There are class of citizens
exempt from jury duty-professiona
men, men over sixty years of age. and
others the nature of whose business
makes attendance upon court impossi-
bic. But there are other classes who
are exempt according to the law who
should not be. refer to members of
the state militia, and what are known
as exempt firemen. There is no earthly
use OF allowing these people to escape
their obligations in this particular.
Jury dirty is onerous at best, and no
citizen possessed of any public spirit
should endeavor to shirk the burden i'm
posed upon him by the state. There
are large number OF citizens eligible
as Jurors who never do jury duty. They
are, as a rule, men of position and stand
ing in the community, and this is but
another illustration of the power of
wealth. Of course they do not buy
their exemption, but the law seems to
deal most leniently with them in this
particular.
The jury system of trying and settling
disputes at law is as old as the hills.
Like nearly everything else in law. it
comes to us from England, and has I'M
dergone but little change since the in
ception, save in the number of persons
VINO should constitute panel of Jurors.
twelve good men and true" is the
popular method of eharacteriZing Jury
panel at the present day. AS general
rule the phrase good and true" is in no
manner mlSapplied. But jurors are ONLY
human, and, being human, they often
err; put the errors are mainly errors of
judgment, and not of passion or prei
udlce. The method of trial by jury has
been attacked and condemned with
great deal of severity because of the
miscarriage of justice in some few in
stances, but the people generally have
Enarded 1t with jealous eyes, and have
hrinly opposed any material changes of
II. The present jury system has its de-
Iects, Dut as yet 10 one has come for