El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-06
NEGROES ON
GRAND JURIES
Opinion From Office of Texas
Acknowledgement
NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY
Officials lave No Rights to Keep
Negroes Off of Jurles by Reason
of Color.

The following Interesting opinion
was handed down by Office Assistant
Attorney-General D. E. Simmons
relative to the Seth Carter case,
regarding the matter Of negroes serv-
Ing on grand juries and is printed in
the Fort Worth Register:
There seems to be great deal of
confusion resulting from the decision
OF the supreme court In the Seth
Carter case. 1 prepared the brief in
that case which presented the states
view of the case to that court. Seth
Carter Is negro, who, at the time the
indictment was found against him
charging him with murder, lived in
Galveston, Tex. He was tried by q
jury composed entirely of white men,
was found guilty and given the death
penalty. Upon appeal to the court of
criminal appeal the case was affirmed.
By writ of error it was carried to the
U nfted States supreme court. In the
trial court, the defendant, Seth Carter
made motion to quash the Indictment
s1oners appointed to select the
grand jury. which found and
presented said Indictment, selected no
person or persons of color or of African
descent. known as negroes, to serve on
said grand jury, but, on the contrary,
aid exclude from grand jurors all
colored persons or persons of African
descent, known as negroes because of
their race and color This motion was
overruled. A special venire Of 15Omen
had been properly ordered and from
them jury was selected and empanel-
ed, but before the Introduction of eny
testimony, the defendant pres ented q
motion to qussh the panel of petit
jurors, q part Of which is as follows:
"And now comes the defendant in
his own proper person and moves the
court to set aside and quash the panel
Of petit jurors selected and summoned
to try him In the case herein, because
the jury commissioners appointed to
select the list of petit jurors from
which the present panel were drawn
selected no persons of color or of Afri-
can descent, known as negroes, 60 that
they might be drawn on said panel, but
that said jury commissioners excluded
from the list of persons selected to
serve ss petit jurors for this term of
court all persons of color, or of African
descent, known as negroes, because of
their race and color. ard that said
panel as we'll as the list of jurors selec-
ted for the entire term of this court, |
is composed exclusively of persons of
the white race. {"
Ihls motion was Overruled by the |
court. Bills of exception, numbered |
one and two, were served, which set |
out the motions In full. as well as the |
following language: The defendant
asked leave of the court to Introduce
witnesses, and offered to ntrod uce wit
nesses to prove and sustain the alIega-
lions therein made, but the court re-
fused to hear any evidence In support |
OF SAID motion, and thereupon over
ruled the same without investigating |
the truth or falsity of the allegations |
OF the SAID notion. :" The |
court approved the bills of execution |
as given above.
by reason of the action Of the trial !
court the defendant claimed that he |
was denied the equal protection of the |
laws, which is prohibited by the four
teenth amendment to the constitution |
OF the United States, as follows: "No
state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the PRIVILEGES or |
! m munities of citizens of the United |
States.'
In rendering the opinion which re.
versed the case, the supreme court of
the United States uses the following
language which presents the only
ground upon which the reversal rests:
The defendant having offered to in
troduce witnesses to prove the alleea-
sions in the motion to qussh, and the
court having declined toshear any evil
aence upon the subject, it is quite
clear that the omission OF the bill on
exceptcns to give the names of the
whom the defenda ant proposed
Or intended to call, or to state their
estimouy in detail, cannot deprive the
defendant of the benefit of his excep
lion to the refusal of the court to hear
my evidence whatever. And the as
sumption, In the final decision of the
tate court, that DO evidence was ten
Tered by the defendant in support of
he slleo atoms In the motion to ouash |
= plainly disproved by the statements ,
n the bill OF exceptions of what took
'lace In the trial court. The neces-
ary conclusion Is that the defendant
les been denied q right duly set up
md claimed by him under the consti- 4
utfon and laws Of the United States" J
"A glance at the opinion of the court
Will convince anyone that 1t is not
necessary to have negroes on every
rand and petit jury. That which has
'eep the law sipce the adoption of the t
ourteenth amendment to the con stitu- &
Ion and which lie reanuounced bv the 4
IT court in the land, is that of b
. of the state have DO right and r
re forbidden 10 keep negroes, on &C. h
cunt OF their race and color. off juries +
hen such negroes are other wise quail
fed Jurors.
sd. e. SIMMONS,
'Office Assistant Attorney General"