The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-10-08
How and Why It Was Neces
sary to Have Three
Jury Lists.
JUDGE QUICKLY CORRECTED ERROR.
The First List Lost and the Second Illegally
Drawn-The Third Ordered in Due
Form and Correctly Done.

Considerable furry and gossip has
been excited during the last few DAYS,
due to the rumor and publication of
stories in connection with the superior
court jury lists. The fact that three
jury lists have been drawn for the
December term of superior court has
caused some comment, which comment
was given an impetus by publications
in out-of-town papers, which did not
give all the circumstances connected
with the matter.
THE TIMES yesterday obtained full
statement of the case, as attested by
the official records. The trouble appears
to have been two-fold-in the first
place, loss Of the original lists and,
in the second place, a misunderstand-
ing of the law by Judge Sweat,
which misunderstanding, Judge
Sweat, however, hastened to correct.
The circumstances have been seized
upon by opponents of the present ad-
ministratlon as admirable political
capital, and the consequence has been
cOmmotion that was unwarranted by
the facts. There has been some nom
sensical talk about lmpeaching Judge
Sweat and any number of baseless as
sertions that the whole thing was a
political scheme for the salvation of
certain political "scalps" that hap
pened to be allurlng apples in the eyes
of the ambitious "outs."
The story is this: At the close Of
the May term of Glynn superior court,
Judge Sweat, as required by law, drew
the panels OF grand and traverse jur-
Ors for the December term, and the
prscepts were duly and legally exc
cuted. Several days later, Deputy
Clerk John g. Lehman, in looking for
the lists, was upable to find them. He
searched diligently and. the docu-
ments not being discovered, reported
the matter to Clerk Beach. Both Off
cials made thorough search, without
result. In the accumulation of papers
Immediately succeeding the term of
court, the lists had been misplaced.
1t was a repetition of a similar occur
renee OF five or six years before when
Deputy Clerk Rainey was unable to
find the jury lists when they were
called for.
In this emergency Clerk Beach re-
ported the matter to Judge Sweat and
asked for direction. Judge Sweat
came to the city few days later and
drew another jury.
After doing this Judge Sweat gave
the matter considerable thought, as to
the right of the court to draw second
Jury. He Investigated the law thor
oughly and came to the conclusion
that he had made a mistake. The law,
he discovered, provided that, In case
the original lists were lost or de-
stroyed, the presiding Judge should
order the jury commissioners to sup"
ply the deficiency. Realizing his
mistake, Judge Sweat Immediately
took stops 10 rectify it. 1t was not the
first time that a Judge had made a
mistake. Many judges have committed
errors and failed to correct them
Judge Sweat, however, at once called
specisl term of GIynn superior court
as the frat order published below will
testify, and, coming to Brunswick last
Monday, October 4, held the specia
term and passed the order published
below for the drawing of another jury
list. This was done by the jury com
missioners, in proper form, and the
precepts have been duly signed ant
executed,
It was very fortunate that judge