The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-02-08
THE new JURY.LAW.
DECIDED CHANGES TO BE MADE
IN THE SYSTEM.

DECIDED CHANCES IO BE MADE
IN THE SYSTEM.
House Judiciary Committee Reports
a Bill Containing Good Features
of ali Bills Introduced.
Columbia, Feb. 3.-The provisions
of the house judiciary committees
bill with regard to the jury system Of
the State are farreaching, important
and increasing. The bill makes
decided changes in sections l, 2, 8 and
4, of the 1902 act "relating to the
selection, drawing aud summoning
of jurors in the circuit courts of this
State These are the sections as
amended by the bill, which went on
the calendar today andwhioh will like
ly be taken up as a specia1 order at
an early date on account of it's import
ance. The bill Ewas made up by the
committee from the best portions of
five bills on the subject and will there
fore be the only one of it's kind before
the house:
Sec. 1. That the Governor shall
appoint three persons, who are quail
fed electors in each County in the
State, no two of whom shall reside in
the same township or ward, to be
known as the Jury Commissioners,
who shall be commissioned for term
Of two years and until their successors
are commissioned ard qualified; and
each Of said Commissioners shall re-
ceive as compensation for his services
the sum of three dollars per day for
each day he may be engaged in per-
forming his duties as herein provided,
and five cents per mile travelled in
going to and returning from the Court
House when in the actual performance
of his duty. Said Jury Commisson-
ers shall attend the Courts of General
Sessions.
Sec. 2. That the Jury Commission
ers of each County shall, in 1ha
month uf December, of this and esq
succeeding year, prepare list %
such qualified electors, under the pre-
visions of the Constitution, between
the ages of twenty-one and sixty-ava
years, and of good moral character,
of their respective Counties, as tfley'
may deem otherwise we'll qualified 30
serve as jurors, being persons of sop.4d
Judgment and free from all legal ez
ceptions, which list shall iuclude nc
less than such number as may be rec
essary to serve as grand and pe5it
Jurors during the coming year, witil
one-third as many more names &C ei-
tional to meet contingencies the infcF-
nation as to requisite number sfs
be furnished by the Clerk of Cor .,
of .szch qualified electors under tbe
provisions of the Constitution, he
tween the ages of twenty-one au6
sixty-fve years, and If good morai
character, to be selected without ce
gard to whether such persons live
within five miles, or more than five
miles, from the Court House.
Sec. 3. That of the list so prepared
the Jury Commissioner shall cause the
names to be written, each one on d
separate paper or ballot, 80 as to re-
semble each other as much as posi-
BILE, and so folded that the name writ
Zen thereon stall lot be be g;siblle on the
outside, and shall place them, with
the said list, in strong and substan-
tial box, without appertures or OPEN
ings when closed Ito be known as the
Jury Box'1, to be furnished to
them by the County Supervisor Of
their County for that purpose, and of
such size and shape as that, when
such separate papers or ballots shall
have been folded aud placed therein
as above required, they may be easily
shaken up and about and well mixed
therein, and it shall be the duty Of the
Clark of the Court to keep said jury
box in his custody. The said jury
box shall be kept securely locked with
lock being different and distinct from
the other two, and requiring one
key peculiar to itself in order to be
unlocked, and the key to one of said
three locks shall be kept by one
Jury Commissioner himself, the key
to another Of said three locks by
another Jury Commissioner himself,
and the key to the third Of said
three locks by the other Jury Com
missioner himself, so that no two Of
them shall keep similar key or SINH
lar keys to the same lock, and so
that all three of them must be present
together at the same time and place
in order to lock or unlock and open
the said jury box. At the same time
they shall place in special apart
ment in the said jury box (Which spe-
cial apartment shall be known as the
tales box"), the names of not less
than one hundred nor more than one
hundred and fifty of such of,the per-
SONS whose names appear on said list
as reside within five miles of the
Court Honse, from which tales box
shall be drawn Jurors to supply def
ciencies arising from any cause or
emergency during the sitting of the
Court. The names of persons placed
in said tales box shall be also placed
in the said jury box.
Sec. 4. The grand jury shall be
drawn from the same box as the petit
jury, when the first jurors are drawn
in each County for the year, by draw
ing twelve names in addition to the
necessary number of petit jurors,
and from the whole number so drawn
it shall be the duty of the Jury Com
missioners to designate twelve men,