Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-04-15

CHIEF JUSTICE THOs. SMITH.
Mr.. Foreman and Gentlemen Of the Grand
Jury:
AS detectives, to a limited extent, Of the
status of your county, and discoveries, II
possible, of the violators Of the law, you
have a solemn obligation upon you, and IT
Is incumbent upon you to diligently and
industriously make inquiry into the extent
to which the laws of the Territory have
been violated. Yours is the obligation to
institute proceedings against all offenders
against the statutes that your legislature
In its wisdom has enacted, and to bring
to trial parties who have ignored their
duties of citizenship, not only for their
punishment, but for the sake OF example
in your county, to deter others from the
commission of crime In the violation OF
the enactments of your legislature. You
must understand, however, that in the dis.
charge of this trust, you shall not be an
mated by any consideration of a personal
character, but purely by public calcula-
tions, purely by those views that seem to
be necessary for the good of the public OF
your county, not for the qualification OF
any Individual feeling of hostility, re-
venge, or other unworthy emotion, and
If it should appear to you in the progress OF
your deliberations that any member of
your Jury is i%nstigated, in the minimum,
by the desire to wreak vengeance upon
one of your community, either by his own
testimony or that which he may procure
for Introduction before you, you must in
~dignantly resent it, not only in the re-
fusal to return an indictment, but in Wig
orous rebuke to him for his unworthy con-
duct. You are assembled, not for the pur-
pose of promoting any individasl par
TALLY or prejudice, but for the single good
of preserving the ascendency Of the law
in the community of which you are an
important part, and If you depart in the
least from this object Of your creation,
you will be altogether unworthy Of the
to which you have been called,
and instead of being recognized as bene-
factors, you will be condemned as un-
worthy citizsns who have prostituted the
position to which you nave been assigned
by the law in its enforcement.
With a view to impress you with the
solemity of your obligation, l will read to
} GU as impressively as / can the oath that
you have taken, as presented to your fore
ma and then repeated to you:
You. as foreman of this grand Jury.
shall diligently inquire, and true present.
ment maze ma OF az enences exams. .ne peo-
committed OF triable within this county. Of
which you shall have obtained legal evil
dence; you snal present nc person tnrougn
nnnrssantad tbrorah co. ffsuor or : er ay
ton or for any reward or the promise of
hope thereof, but in all your presentments
u. ~ ho,n you snail piesen. .he .lu.u'
according TO the best of your skill and nm,
d~erstanding.
This is your oath, and failure in adher-
enc to it, is not only perjury, but deliber-
ate and criminal nsglect of your duty. /
had this oath repeated to you as
the most effective and elegant address that
can be delivered to you, and which is SO
elaborate and comprehensive that due
consideration Of it will enforce upon your
minds that appreciation that no charge
can intensity.
The calendar of crime Is SO we'll known
TO the public that / need not recount it to
Murder, larceny, arson, Islander,
are among these offences which are CLASH
led in the criminal code, and if In the pro-
zress Of your deliberations YOU are cog
,izant, either personally, or through
of the commission of any of these
crimes, you will as a matter of coure. in
vestigate them carefully and reach a wise
conclusion. And you will understand that
you are not required by the obligation of
vour oath to he absolptelv ~certain
that an offence has been committed.
the duty is incumbent upon YOU to
to the court any offender, whom
is probable cause, not certain, not
absolute, but whom there is probable
cause to believe has wropged this commu-
nifty by violating the laws OF the Terri
and If twelve Of you shall reach that
conclusion, you will return an Indictment.
either upon the evidence Of one or more Of
your body, or upon other legal evidence |
that may be presented to you through the
district attorney.
The district attorney, Of course, is at
your service, and in the exercise Of his
iuties will present to you cases that have
come to his knowledge, and you have a
to call upon him whenever you have
any doubt in your mind as to the perform
ance Of your duties. But if you have any
knowledge yourselves of witnesses whom
you would like to have before you, it is
your duty to furnish the names to your
and he will present them to The
district attorney, who will have them sum-
before you.