The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-01-26
TRIALS BY JURYMEN.
Chapter of Amusing Stories of the
Good Men and True"
From the London Mail.

Although juries in their collective ca
pacity seem to be the embodiment of
common sense, taken individually they
frequently behave in the strangast
manner. The writer remembers a case
in which the judge when he came to
sum up noticed that one of the jury
men was missing.
Just as a search was being instituted
for the delinquent, a juror arose and
said My lord, the gentleman has a
sick daughter whose case is to be dag
nosed at o'clock today by a celebrated
specialist. Fearing you would not give
him permission, he left the box soon
after the court resumed, leaving his
verdict with me-"
The judge fell back on hearing this,
and it was quite a minute before he
recovered his speech. The counsel, of
course, waxed very merry; they had no
reason for anger, as the adjournment
of the case, of course, meant more fees.
The judge next morning fined the alb
sentee go, which he could very wei.
afford to pay, as he was living in a
house rated at G200 a year.
Special juries, because they live in
houses rated at not less than ESQ a
year in MidleseX, raised to El00 for
towns containing less than 10000 in
habitants. are supposed to possess spe-
cial qualifications for trying cases in
volving technical and intricate issues.
1t may be so, although personally
most people would fail to see why the
tenant of house rated at $50 a year
should not be equally as intelligent as
the gentleman who happens to live in
a $50 dwelling. one thing, however, is
clear: Common jurymen, although
they are not without weaknesses, are
seldom guilty of what might be called
downright foOlishness."
Not long ago a special juryman, TO-
ward the conclusion of a long trial was
taken so i'll that, after adjourninS the
case for a day, the judge directed a
fresh juror to be sworn. 1t will scarce
~ be believed that this juryman a few
minutes after he had entered the box,
prompted by his colleagues, rose AID
said
MY lord, as | have been I'm court all
through the trial'-which was not true
and listened attentively to all the
evidence, is ii necessary we should
have it all over again?"
Yes" replied the judge, but you
were not on oath ito well and truly try
when the evidence was first given"
on one of these occasions a iuryman
so lost his temper as to audibly swear
The writer will never forget the de-
licious way in which Lord ColeridN'
who was the judge, and who always
rose TO the level of such occasions, said:
"The tropical fervor of such language
is so calculated to impair that cool
judicial atmosphere 30 necessary for
the proper administration of the law
that, ss a punishment for tampering
with the legal temperature, l must fine
you G5."
In an instant the hand OF every 9TH
er juryman was in his pocket, and
while his lordship (who was too good
natured TO notice. bent over his notes
and smiled, the money was subscribed
and the fine paid.
If the retrial of a case, through the
indisposition of a juror, annoYs the
twelve good men" il absolutely terri
fles the witnesses. They are afraid
lest the second edition of their evil
dence should not correspond with their
first. The awe-stricken manner in
which they creep into the witness box,
evidently under the impression that
any trifing discrepancy will be mag
nified into an absolute contradiction,
is ludicrous in the extreme.
1t Is on these occasions that the
workingman juror shines While a
special jury would probably take no
garding the whole affair as an awful