Evening star., 1902-01-24

code cont Aimed shall be held to affect the
operation or enforcement in the District
of Columbia Of
section 1e4i provides that all offenses
committed and all penalties or forfeitures
incurred in the District to the date on
which this code Is to take effect, may be
prosecuted and punished in the same man
ner. and with the same effect as IL this
code had not been enacted.
A Saving Clause.
Section 1G42 has a saving clause relating
to the bar of the statute of limitations
under certain conditions.
1T is, indeed, unfortunate that among the
elaborate appeal sections of the code there
should be none continuing in force the pro-
visions Of the formal laws relating to
juries. at such time as. however, the regu-
lations might be put in formal operation,
thereby preventing q break IN the conti-
nuity of the proceedings of the Criminal
Court. The situation. however. will not
Justify us in reading such a provision into
one of the saving clauses. or into one OF O.
the exceptions from the general repeal OF
formal laws. There Is ambiguity In the
provisions referred to that calls Tor inter-
probation, in the course of which an excep-
vent the result which, had the legislature S
attention been directed to It. would un-
doubtedly have been guarded against.
Courts could not be justified In adding a
a
construction.
"The provisions of the code relating to
the subject being explicit. 1t would serve no
useful purpose to review the cases to which
we have been referred We are, In the nee
essary Interpretation of legislature acts,
constrained to give special or restrictive
meanings to ordinary words In order to
prevent conclusions manifest1y unrea SON
able or absurd.
Supported by q Decision.
"The conclusion we have reached is sup
ported by the one decision directly In point
that has come under observation-State ex
rel, Maurice vs. Thomas, 80 L. A. ann. 6O3
There, as here the old jury law had been
repealed and the new one substituted with
out provision for the intervals that must
necessarily occur between the time OF go
ing into effect and the earliest upon which
its provision could be brought in practical
operation.
THE court said:
The act of the I'd of this month went
into effect from its passage and repealed
all laws In conflict with 1t. and did not pro
vide that the juries already drawn by the
commissioners under the old law should
act and be a valid jury for the term or
time for which they had been drawn. the
new law to the contrary notwithstandlng.
A saving clause like that or of similar i'm
port would have obviated the difficulty but
since the act does not contain it petit
jury cannot be drawn for the superior
Criminal Court. whenever grand jury Is
also needed, until a panel Of seventy or
more names Is made and from 1t good
jury is first selected. This cannot now be
done for the present month. A new panel
must be formed by the board Of jury COM
missioners under the new law from which
the grand and petit juries must be drawn III
the manner directed by it..
The Action Taken by Congress.
Another point remains to be perfectly
considered. Apprehending the very mis-
chief that has occurred, Congress under
took to cure it in December last by pass
ing joint resolution in which the follow
ing clause occurred: That all grand and
petit juries in the Supreme Court of the
District of Columbia, and all petit juries
in the Police Court of said District, which
shall have been organized or drawn under
existing laws at the time this code goes
into effect serve out their respective term,
and vacancies therein shall be filled under
the existing laws"
This provision. sufficient for the pur
pose had it gone into effect. as contem-
plated, before January l. was unfortunate
ly delayed. Though passed in December,
it was not submitted to and approved by
the President until the afternoon of jan
uary 8. 1902. some hours after the grand
jury had been impaneled. 1t was clearly
intended to operate prospectively, hence IL
Is unnecessary to consider whether, If 9TH
erwiSe intended, 1t would come within the
lQnlDlIlOn Oh eX post 1dcLO laws.
There being law authorizing the i'm
paneling of the grand jury which returned
the indictment against the appellant his
plea in abatement should have been sus-
tained.
THE judgment will, therefore, be re-
versed and the clause remanded, with d.
rection to overrule the demurrer and enter
Judgment on the plea"
Preliminary to Creating New Juries.
Mr. John R. Young, clerk Of the Su-
preme Court Of the District of Columbia,
today, under the provisions Of the code,
drew from the jury box the names Of those
who will be summoned to serve in the
Criminal Courts and Circuit Court for the
term beginning the 4th of February. A
resolution was yesterday passed by the
Senate, and favOrably reported to the
House, providing for a grand jury and
Police Court jury during February and
March. Therefore. the indications are that
with the beginning of another month the
local jury situation will be Strengthened out.
So far as can be learned the only case
affected by the jury's decision is that Of
Andrew Pryor convicted the 9th instant in
Criminal Court No. 2 Of second offense
petit larceny, and sentenced to imprison-
ment for one year and one day in the
penitentiary at Moundsville. w. Va. 1t is
thought that petition for his release on
habeas corpus will be filed on the ground
that the body of men who reported the
verdict was not legal jury.
All hearings in the Circuit Courts have
proceeded only after counsel waived the
| question of the legality of the juries. The
general opinion seems to be that the ver-
diets returned in these courts, under the
circumstances, are valid.
1t is pointed out, however, that in view
Of the decision Of the Court Of Appeals the
persons who have been serving supposedly
as jurors since the 7th instant cannot be
paid from the public funds for their ser
vices.
HABEAS CORPUS PROBABLE.