St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-06-24
WHEN JURYMEN DINE
They Are Apt to he Cheerfsl, Ewes
II They Have . Murder On
Their Hands.

The jurors who serve at murder trials
might be supposed to be so much in'
fiuenced by the solemn nature of their
duties in court az to carry sort OF
courtroom air with them when they &C
to dinner. This, it appears, is far from
being the case. 1t has been found that
the thought of having to decide wheth-
er fellow being shall die in the cleo
trio chair or go free does not AFFECT their
appetites or interfere with their aPpre.
citation of the good things of this life
The proprietor of restaurant where
jurymen dine said:
'The jurors in civil cases who dine
here are generally solemn and sedate.
while the jurors in murder cases are
usually cheerful and lively. Why is this
so? The principal reason, believe, Is
that the civil jurors pay for their own
meals, while the jurors in murder cases
dine at the expense of the state. The
latter know that the state is gen
erous paymaster and that they will
have a good dinner anyway, while the
civil jurors know that If they want q
first-class dinner they will have to pay
for it. Another reason is that the jurors
in murder cases find it a great relief to
get away from the courtroom for
short time. They are glad to unbend
and become for the time being like
other people.
these jurors are allowed to have
first-class dinner. but no liquor of any
kind. Sometimes juror who has
served for the first time wants some
thing to drink, such as beer or whisky
or a cocktail, but there are six court Of
ficers in charge of the jury. and at the
first sign of ordering drink one of the
officers comes up and warns the juror
that he must not drink any liquor. The
six court officers always sit at table
by themselves. near enough to watch
the table where the jury is seated and
at the same time far enough away not
to embarrass the jurors when they arc
engaged in conversation. They keep
watch on the jurors all the time lest
outsiders should attempt to speak tc
them.
"The jurors must not read the news
papers. and when a newsbOy comes in
all the six officers are on the alert. Oc-
casionally n member of the jury who
has acted in murder trial, perhaps for
the first time. forgets the instructions
of the Judge before he left the court
room not to read any newspapers while
he is away. and beckons the newsboy to
come up. You should see how fast the
court officers get between the jury and
the newsboy then. The juror is eau.
toned and reminded of the instruc-
tions given to him by the judge. If the
Juror is very young man he OCCASION
ally gets angry, but usually he has too
much sense to be offended.
1.-The regular customers of this place
know that they must not speak to any
Of the jurors, but strangers, when they
hear that a jury has come in for dinner
and know that murder case is being
tried in the court. will often go up to
the jurors to talk to them about the
trial. That is, they try to go up, but
the officers are always too quick for
them and stop them before they reach
the jury.
do jurors ever kick at not being al
lowed to take liquor? Oh. yes. Now
and then man will plead for drink
just the same as thirsty man at the
time of the Parkhurst Investigations.
when the saloons were so tightly closed
on Sundays, was more determined to
have a drink than IL the saloons were
open. But they can't get any liquor, all
the same. Yes. the jurors can do the
table credit and have good appetites as
a rule. They are nearly always in good
spirits. as it is great relief to them
after sitting silently for many hours
in the jury box to feel like other people
and to be able to chat and joke, even if
they can't talk to outsiders"
A dollar and half is the limit set
by the state on the cost of the dinner of
each jurOr.-N. Y. Sun.