The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-06

JuuSe MdrSna1l. >. ii. Hill, foreman
r. C. Pratt, NJ Richter, ]. w. Eardley,
w. H. Dickinson, James Rowle, George
Alder, VIM. Tunbridge, C. w, HUH.
D. w Hunter, W. A. Stoker, Joseph
Howels, c. D. W. Fulmer, H. C. Lund,
H. j. Folger. Conrad A. Lund and Jas.
H. Brown
THE JUDGES CHARGE.
His honor then charged them in the
following terms:
You are summoned here as a grand
jury of this court. AS such grand
jurors you have important duties to
perform. The constitution of the Uni
ted States provides: mo person shall
be held to answer for a capital or
otherwise infamous crime unless on a
presentment or indictment of a grand
jury, except in cases arising in the
land or naval forces or in the militia,
when in actual service in time of war
or public danger
The term infamous means any
crime which is punishable by imprison-
ment in the penitentiary, SO that you
VIII see that no prosecution for any
public offenSe can be carried to a ter
inmate unless the charge proceeds
from you through an indictment or pre-
sentiment. You WILL of course, only in
Vesugate crimes against the laws of
the United States-not against the laws
of the state. Nothing rs a crime against
rne United States unless expressly
made SO by statute. There must be
some statute making it an offense be-
fore you can charge it as an offense.
You have double duty to perform,
not simply duty to see that guilty
men shall not escape punishment but
duty to persons who are suspected
of crime when in fact they are inno-
cent, to see that no innocent man is
unjusitly accused of crime.
In your deliberations, you are to re-
ceive only legal evidence-not hearsay
evidence, not suspicious or reports SIM
ply, but only such evidence as would
be competent in court of justice. 1t
was formerly held that an Indictment
might be found if the evidence pro-
duced was sufficient to render the truth
OF the charge probable. A different
and more just rule now prevails. To
justify the finding of an indictment,
you must be convinced, so far as the
evidence before you goes, that the de-
PENDANT is guilty. In other words, you
ought not to find an indictment I'M
less in your judgment the evidence be-
fore you, if unexplained and uncontra-
dicted, would warrant conviction by
a petit jury.
NOT LIKE A STATE GRAND JURY.
You are not an inquisftorial body in
the same sense that a grand jury of a
state would be such. A grand jury of
state has power. and on 1T is i'm
posed a duty, to investigate public Off
GERS, some of the public prisons, and
matters of that kind. You have no
such duty to perform. Your investiga-
tons are to be limited, first. to such
matters as may be called to your at
tention by the court, or, second, may
be submitted TO your consideration by
the district attorney, or, third, may
come to your knowledge in the course
of your Investigations into matters
brought before you and from your own
observations, or, fourth, may come to
your knowledge from the disclosures of
your associates. You will not allow
private prosecutors to intrude them
selves into your presence or to present
accusations. Generally such persons
are aotuated by private enmity and
seek merely the qualification of their
own personal malice.
DUTY OF THE DISTRICT ATTOR-
NEY.
If private parties know of crime, it
is their duty to lay it before the dis
trict attorney, and he will call 1T to
your atten ton and consideration, or,
If he does not, he will lay it before
some committing magistrate, who will
investigate it, and thus it will be
brought to your attention through a
proper channel. The government has
a district attorney to repre-
sent its interests in cases where per-
sons are charged with violations of the
public laws of the United States.
He will therefore appear before you
and present accusations which the gov
may desire to have you con-
slider. He will point out to you the laws
which the government deems to have
been violated and will have subpoenaed
for examination before you such wit
nesses as you may desire. The district
attorney has the right to be present
at the taking of testimony before you,
for the purpose of giving information
and advice touching any matters cog
nizable by you and may interrogate
such witnesses; but he has no right to
be present when you are celebrating
on the evidence. When your vote is ia
ken on the question of whether an in
dictment will be found or a present
ment made, no person should be pres
ant besides yourselves.
You are also to keep your own de-
alterations secret. You are not at lib
erty even to state that you have had a
matter under consideration. Great in
jury might be done to the good name
Of citizen if it were known that there
sver had been before you for considera-
ton the question of his guilt or limo
cence of a public offense. You will al
ow no one to question you as to your
action, or the action of your associates
IN the grand jury.
To authorize you to find am indict-
nent or make preSentment there must
De a concurrence of at least twelve of
your number-a mere majority is not
sufficient.
THE INNOCENT. SPARE
NOT THE GUILTY.
You will present no one through en-
", hatred or malice. Weigh well the
evidence produced before you; do not
allow yourselves to be made the means
# causing the innocent to suffer or set
ing on foot a prosecution in aid of one
side or the other of mere personal
controversy. Neither should you leave
my one unpresented through fear.
ayor or affection. You should be Wig
liant and patient in all your inquiries
md let no man escape a trial who has
committed an offense. Try to deal
Justly, be the consequences what they
nay, and you will have discharged
our duty.
A Sealed Verdict.
The case of j. E. Lee against the
Continental Insurance company in
which the plaintiff sued to recover
], 0S7 alleged to be due for services
'endered as special insurance agent.