The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-15
Results of the Experiment Recently
Tried in the Northwest.
DlvINEs OPPOSE THE LAW
"New" Women and the Cause OF
Justice - Cood-Looking Attor-
neys Able to sway the Opin-
ions of the Twelve.
From the Chicago Chronicle.

a successful one.
Under the Dakota law authorizing
the impaneIing of women as jurors, the
juries may be mixed-that is, COM
posed partly of men and partly of wo-
men. Sticklers for morality. and who
desire 10 carry out St. Paufs precept
in avoiding even the appearance of
evil, insist that such law will be de-
moralizing in the extreme. Recently a
Jury composed of seven women and
five men was out So hours before a ver-
dict was reached. 1t seems to be the
rapidly growing opinion In the state
that IL women are to serve as jurors
the Jury must be composed entirely of
women. Such juries might never agree,
it is urged but the extreme moralists
declare that Ii would be better to get
along without agreement than to de-
moralize communities in the way now
threatened. Some of the ministers OF
the state have even Numbered against
the law in their pulpits. They have
insisted that such a law is opposed TO
public morals and public interests and
should be repealed.
There is another class, to be found in
nearly every community, which insist
that the time for woman emancipation
is at hand and that the absurd forms
and prejudices which have heretofore
governed and restricted her life and
DlaCeQ limitations upon HtI
and possibilities must be discarded.
These comprise the long-haired men
and the short haired women, the new
woman" so far as she can be found
I'm this new state, and the bailiffs OF
courts, who see in the continued en-
ployment of women on juries a pros
pect of larger fees growing out of long
disagreements in Juryrooms. For IL is
already demonstrated that with wo-
xrslaf nl iIIVN n
men would probably settle in an hour,
a jury with several women in its COM
position will hang out for three days
and then report a disagreement.
1t is regarded as fortunate that the
employment of woman juries is not
mandatory, but that IL is left to the
discretion of the presiding judge In any
case as to when they shall be employ
ed. There is no doubt that IL women
were to serve as jurors in one-half the
cases in court the costs of litigation
and the expense of maintaining the
judiciary would be vastly increased. So
far. at least, judges have been quite
sparing in the use of their discretion
in this direction and the sight of wo-
men in the jury box has not been fire.
quent. Probably in not more than a
dozen cases all over the state have wo-
men appeared in the jury role, but the
new woman" is insisting on the en-
largement of her privilege, and ii is
possible that she may force the courts
TO a more liberal recognition of her
claims.
The first case in which women have
been employed on juries was In one of
the more remote counties of the state.
on that circuit there was a judge who
was anxious to see how the new thing
worked. Five of the jury finally Sc
cured to sit on a case, in which a local
school teacher was on trial for Excess
sive punishment of one of her pupils,
were women. They were all married
women. too. and mothers of children at
tending the public schools. The judge
who had brought such a state Of
things to pass had been under the i'm
preston that a better equation of jus
fice could be reached with a number
of women in the box than a dozen men
could possibly attain. The case hal
hardly opened, however, before IL was
plainly TO be seen that the school
marin" had no sympathiZers among the
members of her sex on the jury. The
evidence was strongly i'm her favor. but
the women jurors did not even recog-
nize the legal maxim that an accused
person Is to be presumed innocent un-
til proved guilty. Two or three of them
questioned the defendant when on the
stand in her own behalf. revealing the
IflN>l ITOnOuntfu anu dAl JUL
precipitating an animating argument
of the case for the prosecution deliv-
cred from the jury box. The result in
that case was no verdict, after the jury
had been out sc hours. one of the men
on the jury had sided with the five wo-
men. who We're unanimous for convic-
ton. making six in all who took ground
against both the evidence and the law
in the case. The jury I'm this way was
equally divided and unable to reach
any agreement. The women were deter
mined on conviction or nothing and the
half dozen men resolutely resisted con-
viction on such a fiimsy foundation
After the jury had been discharged tho
fact came out that three OF the women
in the box had before the trial ex-
pressed decided opinions as to the case
and the guilt Of the accused. although
when in the panel they had denied any
prejudice or holding or having eN-
pressed any preconceived opinion. Al
the next term OF court an old-faShioned
stag jury acquitted the schoolmarm
without leaving the jury box.
Another case, as clear as this. was
brought to a mistrial because of the
presence of a female attorney in thS
case. There were three women on the
Jury. II was a civil trial and thu
plaintiff. who was a rather good look
ing young man. had an excellent cas-
on the lneS OF evidence Inc QUESTION
was one both as To fact and law but
the question as TO fact was largely de.
termined in advance in the PLAINTIFF
favor. The preponderance OF oral testi
mony and all the circumstantial evi
dence was on that side of the case.
But the plaintiff. besides a regular at
torney had admitted TO the trial OF hi
cause his ambitious sister. who had takei
a law course at college and was anxiou
10 try her hand I'm court before going int
practice at st. Paul. Good judges OF fem
mine character have decided, since tn
three women on the jury refused 10 agre
with the nine men in a verdict for tn
plaintiff, that nothing but the presence o
the woman lawyer will account for II
The evidence was all one way. As TO tn
point of law involved. the instructions o
the court had been Overwhelmingly 70
the plaintiff. The defendant was lef
practically without any standing &
court but on the first ballot. and on ev