The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-10-09
JURY Law KNOCKED OUT AGAIN.
Aiken the Only County in the
State With a Valid Jury Law.

Columbia, October 5.-Judge Ernest
Gary has given the existing jury laws
of the State a paralytic stroke. He
has, in effect, decided that Aiken
County is the only county in the State
that has jury law that is worth any,
thing. The question has been mooted
for some time but Judge Gary cut the
knot at the recent term of court IN
Cherokee County. His ruling may not
be that of any other Judge IN the
State, and may not be sustained by
the State Supreme Court, but it is a
precedent, and if agreed to by other
Circuit Judges will play havoc with
the Court for the next few months,
or until the General Assembly can
remedy the trouble unless the State
Supreme Court can and does disagree
with Judge Gary.
The point is that Judge Gary has
declared Act No. 1873, approved Febru-
ary1 1900, to be unconstitutional,
and has further declared that the
"Healing Act'' passed at the recent
session of the General Assembly is not
effective as Healing Act' and can
not heal. that which was in his opln-
ion, originally illegal and unconstitu-
tional.
The Jury Act of 1900 repealed the
County Government Act as to jury
law, except for Aiken County. Under
the Act of 1900 Aiken County is
exempted from the provisions of the
Act, and it is specified that so far as
Aiken is concerned it shall draw its
juries under the provisions OF the
County Government Act.
Then for Charleston County there
is another Act, applying to counties
with cities of over 40, 600 people, and
Charleston County is not covered in
any way by the Act of February l9,
1900. No mention at all is made of
Charleston Coutny. Edgefeld Coun-
ty seems to have two modes of draw
ing its juries, one of the modes being
by the Act in question.
Judge Gary said that he regretted
very much to have to declare the Jury
laws in question unconstitutional, but
there was nothing else for him to DO
after the issue had been made and the
facts agreed to as to what had been
actually done.
Under Section "a of the rights of the
General Assembly it is especially pro
vided that one of the things that the
General Assembly shall not do is to
pass special legislation as to sum
mons and empanelling of grand or petit
juries.''
It is further especially provided that
''in all other cases where a general
law can be made applicable, no special
law shall be enacted. -
Judge Gary held that in the cases of
Dean VS. Spartanburg and Nance VS.
the construction of the Supreme Court
as to special legislation. In the Dean
case it was decided that a per diem for
prisoners different in the various
counties was unauthorized and illegal:
In the Nance case Judge Gary held
that the Supreme Court gave unmls-
taxable evidence of its views and that
it applied directly to the jury laws IN
question. -
order that law may be general it
must be of force in every county IN the
State and, while it may contain spe
cial provisions making its effect differ
ent in certain counties, those counties
cannot be exempt from its entire
operation.
The Act of 1900 provided an entirely
separate and distinct plan for Aiken
County and made no mention OF
Charleston, and provided two plans for
Edgefeld, and so Judge Gary held that
it could not pass the test provided by
the Supreme Court.
The Charleston fight on the jury law
was pretty much on the same line, but
in that case it was held that the mere
attack of the statute On the grounds
that it was unconstitutional would not
do, but that it would have to be shown
what had been actually done which
was wrong, and that no proof or facts
were presented, but in the Cherokee
case there was an agreement as to what
had been actually done.
Court is about to meet in Columbia
and there is already talk of attacking
the jury here, and if Judge Watts takes
the same position as does Judge Gary
there will be no jury cases tried here,
and SO will it be all through the cir
cults of the Judges who hold that view
until the General Assembly, or the
Supreme Court, take a different view.
The General Assembly at its last
session passed the Healing Act"
instead of changing the whole law. so
as to make it uniform for the State,
and Judge Gray held that the :" Heal
ing Act'' was as bad as the Act of
1900, as it attempted to remedy that
which could not be legally remedied.
Washington, Oct. President
Roosevelt today appointed ex- Gov.