The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-06-20
JUSTICE.
Comparison French and EnglisI
Court Rooms.

Court ksO%A1S-
vi. Cruppi, the I~iocuratoI's substi-
tute, in a PAPER on French aas;ze court
trials, uses tnc Cd Bailey as a foil to se5
off the aSsize court OF Tie Seine. =
sensational criminal draws TO the
Palais de Justice Il brilliant crowd, who
come TO lie stirred and amused, as al =
| play house. They expect alterations
| of weeping, laughing and bloud-cufd-
'iug horrors. At the Old Bailey there
is nothing spectacular. The court is
IA dark. dinEy hole. to which narrow
stairs ard passages lead. Justice Is
public, but the public were nOtthought
| of by the architect. But the press is
! there, and It's presence constitutes pub
LEFTY. This hall of Justice is not as
spacious as the least large OF n cor
rectional courts of Paris. The M
place where there is elbow room is the
dock. The prisoner can move about
there. stand up, sit down, come and go.
Soldiers do not guard him y wardcr
sits in n little corner pew, and looks
more like a scribe than a %iailer. One
soon sees that the prisoner is a sacred
and intangible being. He discusses
from his notes in the tone OF n creditor
claiming n debt, and he may well do so,
for the proof of his alleged crime is due
to him. A table is in the lowest part
of the dark, dingy hole. TANNED
around it are counsel for and against.
They are close to the jury. Theatrical
effects would be out of place here. The
air is thick with the all-pervading Lon
don fog. Nobody g~esticulates. No
face lights up or shows any sort of ami
nation. There is no rustic of elegant
toliettes.
M. Cruppi points out That the Eng
lish judge is witness of what witnesses
say, and arbitrator, but never accuses.
He respects every right of the accused,
and, if need be, makes others do so,
too. Should he be nervous and cross,
the counsel for the crown will be made
to feel ~unpleasantly his temper Eng
lish barristers argue rather than plead.
They are so close to the jury that if a
barrister in a vehement gesture thrust
forth his arm he might knock over IL
Juror. The thing is to show n proof
or establish n point of law, and not to
produce an effect. The Old Bailey
jurors seem better suited for their
work han those of the Paiais de JUS
tice. Their questions to the accused
and to witnesses + clear and to the
point. One often wonders at their
agreeing on n verdict. Every juror
seems absolutely confident in the wis
dom or fairness of the judge. He is
the sheet anchor. Witnesses may
have contradicted themselves and each
other, counsel may have puzzled them,
the prisoners counsel may have proved
black white, and the attorney general
many points, but the judge
is to declare what is true and fair. He
NEEDLES with nobody, but keeps on tax
ing notes until he has to sum up. a
juror feels his conscience may be az
rest if he follow the judge in doubling
i witness OF doubling the whole case
of the accused. NJ. Cruppi further
says that it is well to understand Eng
land, but dangerous to initiate growth
and racy of the soil. None of her insti-
buttons is more worthy of sturdy than
trial by jury, which France has had
for 100 years, but without the English
judge.--London News.