Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-12

sion, 80 drawing ana selecting the V6nlres l of all grand juries empanelled in Jefferson | county, and h tue criminal court of Jeffer- | son county.
 | A. That said James L. Nail, a jury com-
 missioner of Jefferson county, while exer- | cising and discharging the duties of said I office, did unlawfully aud corruptly receive 1 from Charles Graham an undue reward, i, 1 to.wit, s5o, in consideration of receipt of l which said reward, and in consideration of 1 a promise then and there made by the said | Graham to pay to the said James l.. Nail an 1 additional sum of money, to- wit, $50, the said James l.. Nail did unlawfully and-cor- l ruptly promise and agree with the said 1 Charles Graham, against whom there was at 1 the time pending n indictment in the crim'
 inal court of Jefferson county for keeping l gaming table, that he, the said James l.. l Nail, would counsel and advise the | said Graham in the selection of petit l jury, uy whom he was to be tried on said
 charge and that he would assist in procur- | ing his acquittal by the petit jury before l whom ho was to be tried; and the said | James l.. Nail did then and there corruptly
 and unlawfully agree with the said Charles | Graham that the additional sum of $0O 80 | corruptly and unlawfully agreed by the | said Nail to be received from the said Gra- | ham as aforesaid was not to be paid by the I said Graham except in the event of said Nails procuring an acqIittal by the said | petit jury which was to try the said charge l against the said Graham, and in the selec- | ton of which said Nail had agreed to assist l said Graham; and the said James L. Nail | did further agree, unlawfully and cor | ruplly with the said Graham that be would | repay to the said Graham the sum of S50 | then and there paid by the said Graham to l said Nail if the said Graham was not &C.,
 quilted by the petit jury trying
 the grand jury, further show that ct the time of tue receiving of this undue reward, and of making this corrupt
 and unlawful agreement and promise, the regular venire of all petit juries then drawn | for the criminal court of Jefferson, were drawn by tue jury commission of which he, the said James l.. Nail, was at the time
 of the drawing member, and that all reg ular venires Of all petit juries for the crimi- nal court of Jefferson county since that | time drawn were drawn by the jury com m ission, of which said James l.. Nail was at the lime of the drawing a member, all of which acts are against good morals and | the good and orderly administration of 1 justice and against the peace and dignity of the state of Alabama. And we, the grand jury, further show that at the time | of elecdng state and county officers of the state of Alabama, and the county of Jeffer- son, in the month of August, 1892, the | said James L. Nail, was duly anu regu- | lary elected a county commissioner of Jefferson county from the First Commis- sioner's district, for. legal term of ! office, and that he thereon duly qualified, and has ever since been ex- ercising aud discharging the duties of that office, and we further show that all of the acis herein charged and reported against 1 the said James l.. Nail have been com lnitted since his election to that office aud l since he began to exercise and discharge | the duties of that office; and we, the grand | jury, further show that he still holds the | otice of county commissioner of said county, elected and qualified as the com missioner of the First Commissloner's dis | trict of said county, and still exercises and discharges the duties, and that he still ex- ercises and discharges the duties of jury commissioner of said county, and we re. port, recommend and say that by reason of the facts and charges in this report set out that the said James L.. Nail ought to be re- moved from his said office as county com missioner of Jefferson county from the | First Commissioners district Of said county, and as jury commissioner of Jeffer son county. W. s. BROWN, Foreman. MOVE TO IMPEACH.
 | Solicitor Little was asked by an AGE- l HERALD reporter what step would next be | taken with regard to the charge brought | by the grand jury against Commissioners l Nail He said ln a few days, probably the | first of next week, he would file an "in- | tormationo in the criminal court, based on | the facts set out in the grand jury's report. | Solicitor Little further stated that there | was nothing whatever in the connection | with the case that would reflect on MT. | Burnett's attorneys; that in fact there was | no evidence tending to connect them in | any way with the agreement between Mir. | Burnett and Commissioner Nail, or to | show that they had any Knowledge of such | an agreement.
 l Solicitor Ferguson made in substance the | same statement.
 l An AGE-HERALD reporter called at the | office of the county commissioners about | 4 o'clock and was informed that Mir. Nail | had gone to his home, down near Besse- l mer, on the Birmingham and Bessemer | dummy line.
 1 MT. Burnett's attorneys in the trial were | Lane & White and exSolicitor James E. lsHawkins.
 | MIR. LANES STATEMENT.
 l MT. A. O. Lane, one of t1r. Burnett's l attorneys, made the following statement to l an AGE HERALD reporter who sought an
 interview with him yesterday afternoon: "Yes, I have hastily read the article in | the evening News touching the report of | the grand jury, and l will say, as one of
 the attorneys of record of K. D. Burnett, l that have no knowledge of any corrupt bargain or arrangement of any kind be- | tween him and James L. Nail, nor had l any information of such bargain or ar-
 engagement until~recently, say within tbe 1 last thirty or forty days-long since the
 trial of the case. It is not true, so far | a copy of the venires before they were made l public. MT. Burnett secured them from
 the off ce of the clerk of the criminal court, l or at least he told us he did. It was my | uuueTstAuulug luSu duu it ID My opiuiou l now, that said list had been made public at I that time. It is true that we asked MT. I Nail as to certain jurors whose names ap- I peared on said list. our object being to pro- I cure liberal minded men, free from preju- l dice. This was after the jurors had been I selected and as we understood then, and | now believe, had been summoned by the | sheriff. There was nothing at all unusual I in this, for l rarely have an important case I that do not make particular inquiry of Il fhnqa RlInp0Sad aC0naiIlta0 with the | jurors as to their fairness and competency.