The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-06-16
Am Echo of the
StrObhar Case
[Continued from Third Pagel


court, but under the circumstances l felt it duty
imposed upon me- and therefore have called you
irrespective of the inconvenience that it may be to
you, to the court, to officers to hold special term
at this time.
| wish also to call your attention to the acts and
conduct of Jurors during the term of this court.
Jurors should so conduct themselves as to cause
comment upon their acts during the term of court.
YOU and each of you, are Judges in of the
word. While sit as the Judge of the Law, you gen.
tlemen sit, each and every one of you, judges of
the facts; and you are the most important part of
the court because of the fact that except upon pre-
sentation of an indictment by grand jury, no man
in Alachua County be prosecuted, unless a grand
jury shall find indictment; and therefore, you
readily see the responsibility that rests upon you
and each of you, as to whether there shall be
forcement of the law.
can bring no man to trial in this court for a
crime that is punishable by death, Imprisonment
in the State prison, except the grand jury, upon
sderaton of the testimony, shall present true bill;
then he can be brought into this court and prose-
cuted, and only then.
You are to hear the evidence determine whether or
not there has been violation of the law; and if you
find that there has been a violation of law, then
whether certain party or parties have violated the
law.
You are to be governed by the evidence in your con-
sideraton and not by mere suspicion; but that evil
dence, have therefore, explained to yOu does not
require proof of guilt to the exclusion of and beyond
reasonable doubt, but simply evidence sufficient to
mtted, and that certain party, or parties, have
committed it.
The States Attorney is made by the law your
legal adviser, and he will assist you at such times
you may desire his services in the examination of
witnesses in explaining to you the law or the peril
nency of the evidence, or any other matter before
you, and he will be with you at all times that you
may wish him, except when you 60 to vote. as
to whether you will will not find true bill. Then
no one but the grand jury can be present.
Now, grand jurV, its usefulness not, deter
mined Dy the actions of the grand jury ITSELF and
the oath that you have taken apprehends the duties
that are imposed upon you, and shall read to you
slowly and distinctly the oath that you have taken
"You, grand jurors for the body of this county
of Aachua do soemnly that you will diligently
inquire and true presentment make of all such mat
tiers and things as shall be given you in charge; the
counsel for the State of Florida, your fellows and
your own, you shall keep secret unless required to
disclose the same by some competent court"
This, gentlemen is of the vital points that
determine the usefulness of grand jury or not.
Grand juries, unless they keep the secrets of the
State of Florida, their own and their fellows defeat
every purpose for which they are organized. The
object of their secrecy is that the parties may not
know that you investigating their and
cape before they be arrested upon indictments
in order that they may not tamper with the witnesses
or manufacture testimony to be sent to your body;
in order that witnesses may testify before your body
when they know that their testimony is known to no
one but the grand jury, and cannot be dvuged except
Now, grand jurors frequently make some remark
upon the Streets or in speaking to each other as to
something that has occurred in the grand jury room,
and unintentionally let out secret of the grand
Jury. Therefore, the better and only plan for grand
Jurors to keep the secrets of the grand jury is to
transact and hold all their conversations concerning
the grand jury work. purely in the grand jury room,
and when they leave the grand jury room leave the
grand jury talk behind them until they assemble
again.
And I respectfully charge you upon this subject of
keeping the secrets of counsel of yourselves of the
State of Florida and of your fellows. Frequently
remarks come to my made by parties the out
side as to the work that the grand jury is doing;
ana these parties could not possibly obtain that in
formation unless there a leak somewhere in the
grand jury room, except from the witnesses that
were being summoned before that body.
You shall present for envy, hatred,
malice, neither shall you leave any unrepre-
scented for love- fear favor affection reward or the
nope thereof; but you shall present things truly as
they come to your knowledge according to the best of