The Irish standard., 1895-02-02

L
removing the teohnioalities which q
often tree criminal. The law Of Min
neeota is particularly favorable to the
accused. Take the Hayward trial. There
is no reason why the defense should be
allowed twenty-one peremptory chal'
ienges in selecting jury while the state
Is allowed only seven. The number ol
peremptory challenges should be equal
This is the case in Illinois, New York
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida and
Colorado. Massachusetts even allows
the State more challenges than the de
Tense. Our system OF choosing a jury il
almost equal to allowing the accused to
choose his own jury.
In the trial which now absorbs the at.
tention of the community 1t was neoee-
sary to examine 200 men In order to get
IL who were satisfactory to both sides.
This is giving an undue advantage to the
accused Instead OF being protection
to the innocent it becomes protection
to the guilty. It IS sufficient that the
law presumes the accused innocent until
proven guilty, that he must be proven
guilty without reasonable doubt and
that twslve men must be unanimous in
their decision that he is guilty, without
giving other undue advantages. So high
do the people of this country hold private
rights in life and property that they al
low these extreme democratic ideas to
work forfeiture of justice in many
cases.
Again erroneous rulings of the presid-
ing Judge in favor of the criminal cannot
be corrected, but single ruling against
him d stroys the effect of the whole pro-
ceedings. The state should be allowed
to except to erroneous rulings as we'll as
the defense. And the state should be al
lowed to appeal in case of verdict OF
not guilty. 1t is true that the letter and
spirit of our law is that no man shall be
twice put in jeopardy for the same offsnse,
yet we cannot as laYmen see how man
can be said to have been in jeopardy
when the whole proceedings by which he
was tried were absolutely void. Again
the appeal is but a continuation of the
trial and can in no way be construed as
a new danger. He has not been tried
until the action has been prosecuted to
the final decision free from error.
The enormous disadvantages at which
the state is placed in such trials were
invented by the humanity Of the courts
when no counsel appeared for the defense
and no cross questioning Of Witnesses al
lowed, Such conditions have disappeared
and the rules which attended them
should be changed. The natural sympa-,
thy of the jury for the accused on trial
for his life will always be stronger than
the desire to vindioate society and the
law. This sympathy is easily appealed
to by eloquent counsel and every techni,
cality which is thrown about the accused
is carefully watched from start to finish,
Our laws are also too technical in regard
to discriminating evidence. 1t is ques-
tionable whether great deal OF the tes-
timony secured from Blixt aud Hayward
will be allowed to 60 to the jury because
of the conditions under which it was OBJ
tanned. This, it appears is an unjust
protection to the accused. Any evil
dence obtained in good faith from cloth
ing, marks, tracks, weapons found on the
person or any compulsory examination
by the arresting officer should in reason
and Justice be allowed to go to the jury.
Again there is altogether too many de-
lays i'll a trial. It the defendant is clearly
guilty his counsel will be all the more
eager to secure delays in order that pub
lie sentiment may become dulled. The
theory of the.law is that lawyers as off,
GERS of the court will do ali in their power
to find out the truth. They are servants
of the court engaged to help the court to
execute the laws. But in fact th at theory
fails and the best talent in the country is
found defending criminals, making the
most strenuous and ingenius efforts that
energy and tact can bring to bear to save
the accused whether innocent or guilty.
In the administration of criminal law
those burdens which rest upon the state
should be done away with. It is enough
that the criminal must be proven guilty
boy ond reasonable doubt by the unan-
imous vote of IL men. The sacredness
which is thrown aDout the life Of the ac-
oused should be diminished by our pro-
cedure recognizing that the life of the
dead victim was eq ually sacred.
There is too much protection given the
prisoner. There is too much crime in the
land. The stateshould be given an equal
number of challenges with the defense;
itshould be allowed to appeal, to have a
writ of error, to have the trial brought
on at the same term at which the indict-
ment is found and the ethics of lawyers
should be. improved.