The herald., 1897-10-10

! ing crime, and an amendment was made
| by the last legislature to section 925 of
| the penal code in order that the testi-
mony given behind the closed doors of
the grand jury room may be used with
greater effectiveness when the offender
is on trial in open court. This mode Of
investigation savors rather of the
French method of criminal procedure
and under this amended section an ac-
cused person has his chances of liberty
when brought to trial, much curtailed
A portion of this section reads as fol-
lows:
the grand jury, on the demand
of the district attorney, whenever criminal
causes are being investigated before them,
must appoint competent stenographic
reporter to report the testimony that may
be given in such cases in shorthand, and
reduce the same afterward upon the re-
quest Of the said district attorney, to long
hand: copy of the said testimony so taken
shall be delivered TO the defendant in any
such criminal cause upon the arraignment
after indictment of the said defendant.
This practically provides for the dis
trict attorney extorting from person, in
secret session, information which on
trial in open court he might not be per-
mited to obtain. True, there is a stat
ute that protects an individual from
testifying against himself, but an in
vestigation into collateral matters to
which witness might not be able to
make objection would very often just
as surely transform a grand jury wit
ness into a criminal defendant Grand
iIIr fol1
the ordinary voctions Of life and having
no legal training, the district attorney
would very largely, in effect be judge,
prosecuting attorney and jury all in one.
EXPERTS EXPERTED
The section of the penal code that has
been amended and that is causing more
heart burning than any other is section
92S. wherein the experts who have here
tofore made a good thing out of the
county have been, in the terms of the
baseball crank, badly swatted in the
eye. In its amended form it reads:
1t shall be the duty of the grand Jury
annually to make a careful and complete
examination of the books, records and ac-
counts of all the officers of the county, and
especially those pertaining to the revenue
and report as to the facts they have
found, with such recommendations as they
may deem proper and fit: and if, in their
judgment, the services of an expert are
necessary, they shall have power to en-
ploy one, at an agreed compen sation, not
to exceed IS per day, payable as other coun-
ty charges.
1t is, perhaps, too much to say that it
is an amendment that is causing GER
tain people to feel disgruntled for, as
a matter of fact, the old law permitted
the grand jury only "one expert" It
was impossible for any lone" expert
to go over the books of the county. In
the county auditors office. for instance.
there might be 10000 warrants to &C
over, not to mention any other dOcu-
ments. This being 80 the grand jury has
usually appointed number of assist
ants to the "one" expert allowed by law,
and each and all have made very well
out of the job while it lasted And, be
it said, it lasted just as long as it could
be made to last, and in one office, where
there are no complicated accounts and
the office might be exported in two days,
three at the outside, it took the last ex-
pert just fourteen days to do it, Refer
ence has already been made to the cost
to the county of the last grand jury
but a better idea regarding the matter