Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-12-12
TROUBLESOF AJUROR
The Law Relating to His Payment
is Unjust.
The The T EasILEsMaE HAS HAS THE MOST WOE
Talesmen Not Paid IL Not Used ON the
Trial of a Case-But SO May be
Taxed to the Losing
Party.

To person who has served as
| juror in the district, court and who
does not understand the law, the mat
ter of compensation for those services
puzzles him when the clerk makes out
his voucher and he finds it to be sever
al dollars short, he having expected to
be paid for days when he was excused.
1t often happens that a farmer who is
summoned as juror is compelled to
hire a man to take his place on the
farm. The farmer comes to town,
learns all the news and has a pretty
good time but for the fact that town
people get up too late to suit him, and
draws 81 per day with 10 cents per
mile for each mile Travelled by him in
| getting to the county seat. After his
board is paid at the boarding house
and the hired man on the farm is COM
pensated the farmer juror is not much
ahead yet it is not hard work in the
sense that people accustomed to mans
ual labor take it. If the same farmer
is excused for one day he may go home
and he will receive the So Just the same
as though he had staid but no mile
age is added. If he be excused for
two days or more So is, deducted from
his pay for each day lost. In either
case there is no law that says the de-
duction shall be made nor is there any
that says he shall be paid for the time
| lost. While the farmer may think he
should not be deprived of his attend
ance at court yet there is another side
to it. In full panel of jurors there
are twenty-four men, each of whom
draw from the county So per day.
Should there happen to be case on
trial that in the judgment of the court
will take three or four days to try,
twelve of those jurors may not be
needed, and if excused $24 per day will
remain in the county till instead of
being distributed among the jurors.
The judges in this district have made
n rule, not an iron clad one, however,
that If excused for one day jurors will
|ibe paid for the time lost but if ex-
4 cused for more than. ,one day the
amount per diem shall be deducted.
4 r. AS to the time. when jurors shall be
Ipaid the lawissays the close. of
beach atermt of the district count, the
clerk shall make out a, certificate to
1 each juror for the amount to which he
is entitled for his services and, on pre-
lsentation of such certificate the coun-
/ ty auditor shall issue to each juror a
warrant for said amount on the coun-
4 ty treasury, without the same being
audited by the board of supervisors"
The provision in this section
4 of the code, relating to the
times of payment are never COM
5lplied with in this county. not very
grave offense, but instead Clerk Gar
riot, following the precedent set by
his predecessors. pays every Saturday.
ifestly unfair in the matter of compen-
! sation. If talesman be summoned
and is excused from acting as Juror
he is not entitled, that is to sag,f there
4 is no law that will allow HIM any
Famount for his Services: II he be !,
4 laborer he is compelled to quit work
when summoned BY the sheriff. lose
THAT day or one-half days time and if
not used on the case for which he is
lsumnoned, loses the wages that would
come to him had he worked. which per-
haps may be badly needed by his FAM
/ lily. The old law in relation to tales
men permitted the sheriff to summon
men from the body of the county, but
that bred a lot of professionals who
made it a business to hang about the
court room and whose presence was
4 altogether undesirable. The new law
was passed to obviate this difficulty
Itbut the names of those Intended for
this purpose are put in a box and
drawn as needed. 70 save time, if the
ones drawn happen to reside at dis
lance that would require a greater
Ilength of time tosummon than was eN-
'lpedient or il they happened 10 be bust
ness men who generally know some
thing of the case in court and hence
render them ineligible. more names
are drawn until enough disinterested
A men are found who may be able to
lserye. 1t happened only the other day
that 100 names were drawn TO get four
suitable men. Some of the Judges OF
this district favor the re-aeloption OF
the old law but with the restriction
that all talesmen who have served on
a jury within one year are not eligible
for jury service until year from that
date
4 The money spent by the county in
compromising jurors never returns in
the shape of costs except that a phltry
IsiX dollars may be taxed against the
losing party according TO the provi-
sions of the code. 1t costs SIS per day
Ito employ full panel and as the aver
Il age number of cases tried falls much
below one per day, the county pays
out SAP more than it receives. Indeed
in very many cases it does not even re-
ceiye the Sc taxed because of the bank
rupt condition of the person against
whom judgment Went. The county
should undoubtedly pay for the trial
of criminal cases and should also pay
4 for the trial of civil cases, but in the
opinion of people who ought to know
there should be some provision by
which the amount of money paid jllr-
ors in civil cases might be recovered or
at least taxed as a part of the costs.
There was at one time law on the
j statute books of Iowa that permitted
it being done but it reduced litigation
to such an extent that the legal gen.
tlemen who composed the law making
body Immediately voted for its repeal
at the next session.
i There are some inequalities in nearly
every law and the laws relating to jur-
ors. are no exception.
i Look before you leap Be sure
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