The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-11
"A PROFESSIONAL JUROR.

tfon about tie juTyfnan's lie winch. Win
an irresistible force. conpeis the man
without ;nc3cS and work VINO mas once
served, 10 co.ne back to the platform IN
Hhe hope .ilat the eagie-eye OF the judge
may, In case Of emergency, light 1aVora-
bly, on him.
tits SO very casy-such a snap-to be
paid a Goilnr PER diem to sit in a chair.
listen to the troubles Of some poor unfor-
tunate without having any OF your own.
and exercise your Judgment
a THEIR GENERAL RUN
4 Birds of a feather flock together, and
aikewise light on the Same perch. Nheh
Ia squad of jurors have done with one
court-ti1e Musings for instance-that is.
when tre,- have stayed there as long as
hhey could be countenapced. the time LOT
I1nigration arrives, and they proceed IN a
lbocy 10 !nfest the more retuisent climate
tof some otiler court-say the Circuit-and
there for the next few weeks bask In the
sunshine Of jury fife. Wearing out their
credit here, another move IS projected,
and the other courts in turn ran 10 the
aspiring SAFE of the brood.
/ NV the time the cycle has been rounded,
5 the other end-the Hustings-is again
blossonI!ng, and in its new-found vitality
has entirely forgotten the lounGers OF
months before. and consequently receives
them with a smile. With a grand rush
the flock make for the promising branch,
and again the circumVolation begins
One man In Richmond has been serving
on jur.es since the Civil War, and an
other helped to convict a negro of crap
shooting IN the early seventies. and has
been convicting them ever since. But
these instances are rare. and the new law
Will weed them out. Speaking Of laws,
the jury system and its remodelling may
be interesting.
d THE JURY SYSTEM.
At present. the judge of the court. at
the beginning of the session. selects from
the city directory or otherwise, a list Of
three hundred persons with no disqualif-
cations to exempt them from serving.
places their names on slips of paper,
which he folds uniformly, with names in
visible, and places the slips in a ballot
box furnished for the occasion. When. at
the beginning of a term he is in, need Of
a jury, the Judge draws from the box
sixteen names. the venire issued. and the
persons whose names. are drawn, sum-
moned. If for any cause. business occu-
pations. sickness. or the like. one of these
IS unable to serve. the judge chooses a
person fro.l those around the bench.
e When thus chosen or summoned the man
mas TO serve on that jury for the sue
ceeding term.
3; This is, 81 brief, the jury law that has
now been operating Tor many Years, and
st will be seen from this. that though
not restricted, it is unlikely that a person
Should serve on the jury two months in
succession It Is improbable that the Judge
will. for two consecutive months, choose
from the hystanders the same man. and
hence he moves from court to court
But the new jury law has TOW to be
considered. It might have been entitled.
The Passing OF the Operating Juryrnan.''s=
IT Will superseds the old law after July
list. and will effect vital changes in the
system now IN vogue First and fore
most, its main obiecs and consequence
has been to smash all trend towards
{ professional iuryisn7, thus making orphans
OF those who depend for their mainte-
nance on their oocupatiin IN this lire.
Il The judge. under this new legislation.
at the first OF the year places in the
: box six hundred names. and selects new
Jury every ten days. If one of the six
sfeen drawn cannot serve he again refers
to the box. drawing until he fills the gap.
He no longer selects from the bystanders.
and therefore sthe crowd Is expected to
decrease.
And SO the professional juror ,nonrns.5
He foresees his coming demise. andiregu-
1ates lids actions accordingly. He has
! only four more months of hiss and he
I Intends to make the most of them. come
what may. E5