The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-12-25
EMPANELING A JURY
THE BALSER TRIAL Is NOW
ON.
A Point Raised by the Defense, That
one of the Grand Jurors Was Not
Qualified to Act, is Shown to be a
Mistake, the Juror Having Been
Properly Qualified-=Swartou Com
victed In Lesser Degree.

VlCteQ Ia a Lesser Degree.
The jury in the case of Edward
Swartout retired late Thursday af-
ternOon and reached a verdict about
midnight and Judge Severance was
called up to receive the verdict. The
jury found Swartout not guilty of as
sault in the second degree, but guilty
of assault in the third degree.
No business was transacted at the
forenoon session of the district court,
as Judge Severance excused the
jurors until 200 p. NJ. in order to con-
slider an important point raised by the
defense in the Balser case.
When the court convened this after
noon, the case of Louis Balser, in
dicted for murder in the first degree,
was called for trial. A good sized
crowd was present, who had expected
that the drawing of jury would be
proceeded with at once, but in this
they were disappointed. A. r. Pau,
Balser's attorney, raised most inn
portant point regarding the validity
of the Indictment. He said that it
had developed that one of the grand
jurors, Alexander Latourelle, was an
alien resident, not having taken out
his first papers, although since the
jury's discharge he has taken out his
final papers. The statute provides
that the grand jurors must be
qualified electors, who are citizens or
those who have taken out their first
papers. Under the law in force at the
time that the grand jury was in ses-
sion, Mr.. Pfau held that all the. in
dictments returned by the jury were
| invalidated from the fact that one
of the jurors was an alien resident,
which made an illegal grand jury.
Mr.. Pau raised the point by asking
permission for his client to withdraw
his plea of not guilty, in order that he
might ask that the Indictment be
quashed. He presented affidavits of
himself and his client to the effect
that they did not know before
the plea .was made that Mr.. Lat
ourelle was not entitled to sit upon
the grand jury. He cited an Ohio de-
cision in the case of Benjamin Door
VS.. the State of Ohio. He maintained
that the fact of the point being raised
so late ought not to count against the
request, as it was impossible to know
the condition of affairs before.
County Attorney Benedict opposed
the request and produced considera-
BILE law and authority to support his
contention.
The point made by Mr.. Pau fell
down late this afternoon, for Clerk of
Court Thorne, on eXaming the records
of his office, aScertained that Mr.. Lat
ourelle had taken out his first
papers in 1860.
The work of empaneling the jury
was at once taken up, and is in pro-
gress as we go to press. This may re-
quire two or three days, as both sides
will exercise great care in selecting
jurors.
Mr.. Root, of LeRay, was the first
juror drawn. He had heard about the
case but had formed no opinion what
ever. Attorney Pau challenged him.
| The next was Adam Arnold, of Man
kato township. He knew about the
case and the defendants attorney ad.
mitted the challenge.
Balser sits beside his attorney with
downcast and semi-listless expires.
sion.
Attorneys J. E. Porter, VIM. f
Hughes and CO Daley were appoint
ed triers in the selection of jury to
serve in the Balser case, yesterday
afternoon. They had little work to
do for as the names on the regular
panel were called, each man was as a
rule challenged by the defense for
actual bias, and excused for this rea-
son, the challenge being admitted by
the state after the juror had said that
he had read about the case in the pa
pers and formed an opinion as to the
guilt or innocence of the accused.
When asked in what paper they had
read of the case, the usual response
was 1.-THE FREE PRESS" Neither side
wasted any peremptory challenges
yesterday, and when the panel was
exhausted not a juryman had been
accepted.
Judge Severance issued special
venire for seventy-five talesmen, re-
turnable by eleven o'clock this fore