Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-09

at the hands of the court some instructions to
aid you in your deliberations. and that done,
the entire responsibility of the out
come Will rest upon you. 1t is not
pleasant, or from your personal
standpoints a desirable. duty that Won
have been called upon to perform know
that none of you sought it. for you were drawn
| In the way provided by law without con-
suitation with you, and without your
prior anticipation. and l am conf
power you would gladly have put some one else
In your place and stead. With the privileges
and advantages enjoyed by you as citizens of the
United States and as residents of the District
OF Columbia there exists the corresponding duty
of sharing the burden of unfolding the law
and Of rendering such public service in that
direction as may be rightfully demanded
Not the least important service that the
citizen may be called upon to
render to the government and to the
community in which he dwells is the jury
service, and regarding 1t from the standpoint
OF that interest which every citizen must
have in the Enforcement of laws for
the protection Of life and prop
erty, it must be apparent that it is
service OF paramount Importance. 1t is for
placed in the box from which they are drawn
for service is committed to commissioners for
the several sections of the District of Columbia
and it is their duty to select only the names of
good and lawful men. 1t is of the utmost i'm
portance that juries should be made up
of good citizens; that they should be
composed OF men who appreciate and
realize not only the duties of citizens
to each other, but the responsibility that
rests upon each one to vindicate and faithfully
carry out the law. irresponsible, unfaithful
and demonstrations jurors may and often do
make mockery Of judicial proceedings; they
cause frequent miscarriages OF justice and rem
der communities Unsafe because the protection
OF life and property is uncertain.
IL Is great. serious Inconvenience that YOU
have been subjected to for four weeks away
from your homes and business, separated from
your friends and dear ones. kept pris-
oners yourselves, while considering questions of
evidence involving the life or the liberty of a
fellow citizen. But the law which the citizens
make, an d the great government of which we
form part require it, and the magnitude of
the interests in question between the accused
and the law that he is charged with violating
justify it. You see that your relation to this
case Is most potent. The court may guide In
the application OF the law to the evidence, but
you must decide.
THE INDICTMENT.
A grand jury Of the District of Columbia
have by their indictment charged the
prisoner with the murder Of his wife
Annie by inficting upon her a mortal
wound with pistol bullet on the 3lst
day of January, 1892, from which wound she ling
cred until the 9Th day OF February following.
when she died. and it has become your duty
under the oath that you have each taken to
render true verdict upon the evidence that
you have hai adduced in your hearing
You have been selected and sworn because it
appeared to the court, from your preliminary
examination, on your vOir dire as IL is called
| that although some of you had formed some
opinion or impression from the reading of the
accounts OF the occurrence in tine public nreso
and from rumor. that such opinion or impress
sion would yield to the evidence that might be
given and that notwithstanding such
impression or opinion you could
based upon the evidence alone. THIS selection
was justified by the decisions of tho high
est court in the land that mere news
paper opinions which would yield to
the evidence do not disqualiIy. The
act of the defendant through his attorneys.
who challenged only two Of your number for
cause, and excepted to the overruling Of the
challenges, aud Yet having several
ercised them thereafter, certainly as
to two qualified men against whom
no ground of objection was shown, and
thus manifested a preference for the two
jurors excepted to. Under the circum-
stances l am at o loss to understand why
called upon to magnify his mental difficulty in
contending against what he conceives to have
been an existing opinion against the
defendant in the minds of jurors.
The record Of your examination, the
record OF his action upon the accept
ance of you by the court and his exercising
preference for you by challenging others when
he might have challenged you, fails to justify
either his remarks or his appeal in that re-
gard.
SOLEMN DUTY TO PERFORM
1t is q solemn duty you are called upon to
perform Solemn because fearful tragedy
has been enacted in this good city.
solemn because the life of the young
wife of the defendant has been
taken by violence. Solemn because the
prisoner 10 charged with having taken it with
malice aforethought. Solemn because the law
OF the land following the law laid
down by God for the government of
His chosen people Imposes for the
act the penalty of the life Of the
convicted murderer. Solemn because il the
accusation 10 true the community and the
nation have received q grievous in
jury from the violation Of law which
1t behooves you true and honest citi-
zens mindful Of the security and well
fare Of family, friends. the community in
which you dwell aud Of the oath that YOU have
taken, 80 do your part in puuishinR Il 4 vonr