The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-06
PERvERSIONS OF JUSTICE.


Wilkes-Barre Record: Noting the re.
bukc acmin.s tered by Judge SavidSc to a
Scranton jury which brought N . verdict
of ACQUITTED. but placed part OF the costs
on the defendant. the Scranton Tribune
says: I'm a criminal action before h!Sh
court the verdict OF acqnittal ought to
constitute q complete eNonerat.on. Other
wise we should aave the anomalous spec
tacle of prisoner forced to pay for being
found guilty. The community. when by
its grand jury II sanctions prosecution:
the trial. regardless of the outcome. II
the prisoner is found guilty, the cost of
reaching such n verdict Is rightly sup
posed to be made up to the community in
and of its safety caused by the due con-
viction of violator Of its rights. If found
innocent. the assumption by the pubic
of all the costs In the premises Is little
enough reparation for the injustice of the
arrest and the public arraisnment."
tilt
This is unanswerable logic. But there
are jurors who cannot understand that
kind of reasoning. Many of these gentle,
duty If they find Il defendant not guilty
but warn him not to do 1t again. Such
verdicts should not be accepted by the
court. The judge should have the power
to exercise proper discretion In such cases
overrule the verdict and order another
trial. This would result in more sensi-
BILE decisions on the part of jurors who
do not seem to properly realize the sane
tity of the oaths they take and utterly
disregard the evidence. of which they are
Scranton jury did not consider the
defendant sufficiently guilty to condemn
him, nor sufficiently innocent to give him
an unqualified verdict of aeluttal. In
other words. they had doubt regarding
his guilt, but did not seem to understand
that this doubt, if reasonable, entitled him
to full and free acquittal.
ill: -
A similar instance occurred In our court
last week. and By a singular coincidence,
Judge Edwards, of Scranton occupied the
bench. The jury in the case of Constable
Gallagher, charged with doing detective
work without a license brought in ver
dict of not guilty, but ordered the de-
fendant to pay the costs. In this case.
however. the evidence against the ac
cused was so strong that Judge Edwards
to be found guilty. and told the jurors that
they might reconcile their action with
their consclences. IL they could. In both
and brought the administration of justice
method of selecting juries is one of the
pressing needs of the time.
-:ll:-
Carbondale Herald: Judge Savidge
echoed the sentiments Of more than a small
portion of the people when he criticised
the absurd verdicts which juries render
In many Of the cases tried at the court of
sion for Judge savidge's remarks was the
action of a jury in case where one Scran-
ton man was tried for assault and battery
committed on another. The testimony in
jury, instead of rendering verdict accord
ing to the law and the evidence, divided
the costs between the prosecutor and de-
fendant. Judge Savidge took the verdict.
but told the jury that although they might
be honest about 1t. they were very much
mistaken In administering justice in that
In ha
strong enough to warrant conviction,
said he, any other verdict brings the law
and the courts of Justice into disrepute.
-::-
The rebuke was doubtless a merited
one: but this particular jury was no more
at fault than countless Others have been
during the recent terms of courts. There
has been a general disposition to settle
all cases founded on personal encounter,
by dividing the costs between prosecutor
and defendant; or at the most of deciding
that the defendant was not guilty but d.
rectinS him to pay the costs The result;
rendered insecure. Quarrelsome and mis-
chievous persons have not hesitated to
attack inoffensive citizens feeling that
the aggrieved would have no redress. BY
entering the plea Of self-defense, the ag-
gressor has frequently succeeded in mulct-
ing the prosecutor for half the costs; and
branding him before the community as a
charac ter not above the level of the defend
ant. On account of the small chances for
receiving justice. many persons have suf-
fered assaults, without bringing the mat
ter into court.
-:ll:-
1t is not long since resident Of this
city, a gentleman celebrated among his
acquaintance for his amiable disposition
was attacked by two young men. He
sought redress in the courts, but got moth
ing for his pains except a bill of costs The
case was not any less fragrant than the
one which excited Judge Savidge's in
dignation. Neitheris it a greater perversion
of justice than scores that occur during
the year. There may be times when jury
serves the ends of justice when it divides
the costs, but that mode of settling cases
has become altogether too frequent of
late.