The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-29

sense to talk about the trial court us
urping the constitutional functions of
the jury and in some illegal way bring
ing about verdict which shall ac-
cord with the judges opinion of the
evidence; or about an appellate court
reversing the jury on a finding of fact
from conflicting evidence. Under
government of law, no wrong ever
was righted by a disregard of or by
violation of law on the part of those
appointed to administer it, without be-
ing followed by the most intolerable
evils. No matter what may be the mo-
tive, that which a judge cannot do law
fully, he must not do at all. Trial by
jury must be as heretofore, and the
right thereof remain inviolTSe, until
the people themselves blot that dec
laration from our bill of rights. My be-
lief is that the root of the evil lies in
laXity of enforcement of the law regu-
tess l am not absolutely sure of this,
because the facts from which l make
my deduction are neither so we'll es-
tablished nor so many as would war
rant the absolute certainty of the cor
rectness Of an opinion.
"The jury wheel Is to be filled with
the names of sober, intelligent and
judicious persons by the board of
jury commissioners, of whom the presi-
dent judge is one, in the different coun-
ties of the commonwealth; in Philadel-
phia, it is to be filled with a sufficient
number of sober, healthy and dis
Greet citizens The provisions are sub
stantially the same as to the qualifica-
tions of the persons whose names are
put in the wheel. So far as l can learn
the wheel, both in Philadelphia. ard in
every other judicial district, has been
properly filed; that is, no we'll
grounded complaint has ever been
made that the names of drunken, ig-
norant or injudicious persons. except
to very limited extent, have been put
in the wheel; as nearly as human per-
ceptions and judgment could deter
mine, the requirements of the law In
these particulars have been observed.
Occasionally the names of improper
persons have got into the wheel by in
advertence or mistake, but so seldom
as only to prove the law was carried
out as faithfully as any law could be,
where administration depended on fall
ible human judgment. We have now
in the wheel the names Of sober, in
telligent and judicious persons or
sober, healthy and discreet citizens
from which the juries are to be
| drawn, who shall determine the truth
| from conflicting evidence of every
| issue on which depends the life, lib
| erty and property of the citizen. These
names ought to and do include citi-
| zens from every vocation in life-the
| laborer, mechanic, business and pro-
| fessional man. 1t will at once be no.
| ticed that the jury wheel and the gen.
eral panel represent the average con-
science and intelligence of the judicial
| district; eliminate from this the me-
| chanic, small storekeeper and laborer,
| you get above the grade of conscience
and intelligence applicable to the set
of men; for, as before noticed, these
are experts in those matters which i'm
| mediately concern them. / have re-
| ceived more light in the trial of a
cause from coal miner than from an
| educated mining engineer; the coal
miner was better educated in the prac-
tical knowledge which he dug out with
| his pick than the engineer, whose
| knowledge was largely gained from
| his books. And If you eliminate from
the jury panel the educated man, the
man of large business affairs, the pro-
fessional man, you get below the aver
age conscience and intelligence Of the
judicial affairs.
| INTELLIGENCE NECESSARY.
"While the wheel and the general
panel represent the average conscience
and intelligence of the community, the
jury-boX does not. Let me illustrate:
When / commenced my judicial car
eer, more than twenty-five years ago,
In a large district composed of three
counties in which were large interests
such as mining, numbering, iron manu-
| featuring, immense machine shops,
rich farming lands, great carrying
corporations and in which arose Htiga-
tion involving, all these interests; haY-
ing been born and reared in the dis
trlct / had personal knowledge of al
most every citizen In 1t. The usual
general panel was As jurors. On the
call of this panel on the first day of the
term, / noticed about one-fourth to
one-third asked to be excused ON one
pretence or another At first l granted
nearly every application, but soon mo-
uced that 1t resulted in taking off the