The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-13


declaring invalid a verdict in which
only nine jurors concurred in the ter
ritory of Utah in the case of the Amer
lean Publishing company VS.. the Fisher
Brewing company, is of great import
ance to litigants who had civil jury
cases in the courts from 1892 to the
time of the admission of the territory
to statehood. The majority of verdicts
in civil jury cases tried during that
period We're concurred in by less than
the full jury of II and this decision
renders all of such invalid in which the
parties have presented their rights by
taking appeals to the United States su-
preme court.
THE DECISION.
The following is the dispatch received
from Washington in regard to the de-
cision:
Washington, April I'm the case of
the American Publishing company VS..
Fisher Brewing company, appealed
from the supreme court of the state of
Utah, the court through Justice Brewer
rendered an opinion holding as invalid
the state statute validating verdicts in
civil cases in which only nine jurors
concur.
The ground on which the law was
pronounced Objectionable is found in
the seventh amendment to the consti-
tuition and in the general law confirm
ing the statutes of the various terrific
ries. so far as they authorize a uni
form course of proceeding in all cases
whether legal or equitable"
The court expressed the opinion that
uniformity was a prerequisite in all
territorial cases. No opinion was ex-
pressed as to the validity of such a law
under a state form of government. The
case itself involved claim of $4,000.
WHAT ITS EFFECT WOULD BE.
The statute authorizing verdicts by
nine or more of II jurors was enacted
by the territorial legislature in 1892
Judge Baskin, who was a member of
the legislature at that time and pro-
tested against the passage of the bill
on the grounds of it's unconstitutional
ity, said last night that the decision
would nullify verdicts rendered by less
than II jurors up to the time Of state
hood. The courts in the territories
were United States courts and subject
to the United States laws which re-
quire II jurors to concur in a verdict,
but this rule does not apply after state
hood as states have the right to regu-
late their own affairs in that regard
Judge HENDERSON was OF the same
opinion as Judge BaSkin as to the
effect of the supreme courts decision.
Some able lawyers, however, take the
view that the provision of the constitu
ton of the state of Utah, that civil
jury cases and criminal cases, where
the offense is less than murder, may
be tried by eight jurors is repugnant
to the constitution of the United States.
The supreme court. however, in decid-
ing the Fisher case. has carefully
avoided expressly by innuendo or
otherwise any opinion as to that.
The case in point was brought by
the American Publishing company to
recover from the Fisher Brewing COM
pany about $4,000, alleged to be due
for labels and other stationary, which
the defendant refused to pay on the
ground that the goods were not in ac-
cordance with the contract. The jury
rendered a verdict by nine of it's num-
Der and an appeal was taken to the
territorial supreme court urging the
invalidity of a nine juror verdict. The
territorial supreme court in this, as
we'll as in many other cases, decided
that the verdict was valid and then
the appeal TO the highest tribunal in
the land was taken.
A great many other cases were APP
pealed on the same grounds. all of
which will follow the Fisher case and
have 10 be tried over again.