The Van Buren press., 1901-04-06

/ Stafia Ot negroes ON Juriess
In rendering a decision in the case
! of Ed Fasting VS.. The State. the su-
preme court discussed the negro ques-
tion as applied to the jury system.
Eastling was indicted. tried and con-
victed in Perry county of murder in
the first degree. The principal con-
tention in this case. for reversal,
was because it was alleged the jury
comm. ssioners appointed to select the
grand jury, which indicted Eastling,
a negro, selected no negroes to serve
on the said jury, but excluded all ccl-
ored people because of their race and
color and that fully one-fourth OF
the population of the legal electors OF
Perry county were negroes, and that
they had been excluded from serving
upon any jury for the past eighteen
years, which, it was alleged, is dis
elimination against the defendant.
and that such discrimination is a de-
NAL to him of the equal protection of
the laws of the United States as set
out in the Fourteenth amendment to
the constitution.
In his opinion, Chief Justice Bum
said. in part
at is sufficient to say, in the out
set of the discussion of this particu-
ular subject, that mere absence OF
negroes from the grand jury cannot,
of itself, be considered as sufficient
showing to sustain the motion to
quash on this ground. 1t must appear
that the exclusion of the negroes from
the grand jury was brought about for
the purpose solely of denying the equal
protection of the laws to the defend
ant, or his race, on account of race or
color.
Primarily, the effect Of the first
section of the Fourteenth amendment
is to prohibit the states from making
laws which discriminate against the
negro race but recently emancipated
when the amendment was adopted,
and 1t has been so construed In many
decisions of the federal supreme court.
The provisions Of this amendement
have reference to state action ex.
clusively and not to any action of pri'
vate individuals. II the subordinate
officers Jury commissioners) whose
duty It Is to select jurors, fail to dis.
charge their duties in the true spirit
of the law, il they exclude all colored
men solely because they are colored,
or II the sheriff to whom the venue
is given, composed of both white and
colored citizens. neglect to summon
the colored jurors for the same rea-
son, 1t can with no propriety be said
that the defendants right Is denied
by the state and cannot be enforced
in the judicial tribunals. The court
will correct the wrong. will quash the
indictment of the panel, or If not the
error will be corrected in the superior
court,
"The case Is this: On n motion
to quash an indictment, 1t is purely
a question Of fact, to be proven,
whether the equal rights Of the de-
PENDANT have been observed In the
selection Of jurymen, and whether or
not he has been Disseminated against
on account of solely OF his race or
color. II there are other lawful rea.
sons for the exclusion. thea the mo-
ton to quash will not be necessarily
sustained The circuit court which
tried him were composed wholly Of
white men, and that no negro had been
Juror in Perry county in which
colored man was interested for
eighteen years, falls short Of showing
that any civil right was denied or
that there had been any discrimination
against the defendant because Of his
color or race, The facts may actually
have been as stated and yet the jury
which indicted him. and the panel
summoned to try him, may have been i'm.
partially selected
THE testimony, on the motion to
quash, was introduced, and 1t was
shown by the jury commissioners that
they did not discriminate In their SO.
lectons, because of race or color, but
chose the Jurors for their efficiency
and ability. he verdict Of the jury
was reversed, not on the ground that
negroes were excluded from the jury,
but on the ground that the evidence
was not sufficient to convict of murder
In the first degree"