The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-03-11

A Lucid Exposition Of the Law, and an
Excellent AdmOnitiOn TO the Jurors
In the Circuit Court.

in the Circuit Court.
At the converting of the circuit court
last week Judge Smith called together al
the jurors drawn for the term and in
structed them as follows:
Gentlemen:-Youh have been selected
by lot to come here; to leave your private
business and occupations, come out of the
walks of private citizenship and become
part of the most important tribunal in
the land. There is no other court of gen.
eral original jurisdiction in the country
Under our system the circuit court is the
only court of general original jurisdiction
and you become part of this tribunal.
l presume that many of you have been
here on juries before, or as jurors in 9TH
er places, but undoubtedly there are
some of you who have not been called
upon to discharge the duties of this high
and important office, and therefore it has
been my custom on the first day Of the
term to call the jurors together and
have little preliminary talk with them,
advising them relative to their duties as
jurors.
As said, you have been practically
selected by lot. In the first place, the SUI
pervisor of your assessing district is re-
quired by law to send up certain num-
Der of names each year to the. county
clerk. Those names are to be selected
from citizens who understand the. Eng
fish language, men of integrity, property
no ders, taxpayers, men of known probi-
ty, in the possession of all their faculties;
and the presumption is that the supervi-
sor in selecting you has passed upon all
Of these questions. He certainly has if
he has done his duty; and as such men 1
shall talk to you, and as such men shall
deal with you while you are here. l
shall deal with you as men, as honorable
citizens.
After the supervisor sends up list to
the clerk, he writes off the names sent
from each assessing district on a separate
slip of paper, and puts them in a bunch
by themselves. Fourteen days or more
before the first day Of any regular term
Of court it is the duty of the clerk and the
sheriff and two justices of the peace to
get together and draw jury for the term
of not less than twenty-four men, and as
many more as may be ordered by the
Court. 1 have thought it advisable and
economical, and satisfactory in my ex-
Perience, that we have thirty jurors, as
there are some who desire to be excused
two in this panel have desired to be
excused, 80 we have twenty.eight left.
One of those bundles from an assessing
district is taken and placed in box,
name is drawn from it and the bundle
put away for future use. Then they take
up the next bundle from the next assess
ing district and draw out name and put
shat bundle back for future use, until
they have got around the assessing dis
tricts and drawn the necessary number.
Sometimes they lap over, but the draw
ing of the names for the next term be-
gins where they left off at the last term,
that is, during the year. At the end of
Abe year new list is made for the next
year. So you see you are drawn from
among your fellow citizens by lot.
The selection by lot is not then deter
mined or ended, but when we come to
The trial of case, the clerk takes the
twenty-four or thirty-names, or as many
rs there are ont the jury, puts them in a
box, shakes the box, and without look
ing at the names, draws out the names OF
iwelve men TO serve on that particular
jury. So you see here is another selec-
ton by chance.
Now we come to the examination OF
the jurors as to their qualifications; that
is you are sworn to true answer make to
such questions as shall be put to you rel
alive to your qualification to sit as jurors
on the trial of the cause. Now attorneys
have right to know all about jury that
Is to pass on their case. They have q
right to know their pursuits, their private
history, their inclination this way OF
shat way, or anything that would be like.
ly to influence them one way or the 9th
d. Human life is strange thing. We
hardly know ourselves what may inhu.
ence us or why we did this or why
we did that. You thinking mer
might perhaps go home tonight, OIL
any other day, after having performed
your various duties, and try to give a rea
son why you did the various thing:
which you did that day-that is, the
motive why you did them-and you will
hnd yourselves unable to give reason
why you did or did not do such and such
shings that day. But attorneys, in the in
terests of those whom they represent
have Alright to know about your qualifi
cations and in making this discovery, ant
finding out about these things they
ask great many questions, questions
that may often be deemed as imperti