The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-21
SOME OF TIE
 MYSTERIES OF JURIES Things Beside Evidence Off, ten Decide Some
 Cases.
GOOD MEN AND TRUE
Objection to Convicting a Woman-Human Ma
 ture in Jury Room,

A judge, a lawyer and court clerk met one night last week at club, the membership of which includes many men in public life, and got to discuss ing the fate of case after it is left to a jury
 The three men have had each in his particular line many opportunities for knowing so-called secrets of the jury room The lawyer has been on both sides of the firing line in many legal battles, the judge has sat in many im- portant criminal cases, and the clerk has sworn thousands of juries and talk en their yerdicts.
 You may remember" said the court clerk, taking asip from glass chok- ed with ice, "a murder trial not long ago where a woman was the defend ant.
 "she was riding In a cab with a man one morning when the man was shot and killed The jury disagreed at the first trial and there was a second trial. That is the trial 1 know about.
 There were three points on which the case rested-did the woman's brother -in.law buy the pistol with which the man was killed; did she take it into the cab, and was it phy- sical possibility for the man to have committed suicide?
 l furho t,ap hanp cFo+ +,,ot to I1y{t1, the woman, and that morning he was to leave for Europe with his wife.
 You may imagine that the prescott ton used every effort to settle those three points. The representative of the district attorney was man who had a reputation as q capable prosecutor and an orator of no small power. When the jury retired he felt that he had made out a good case.
 ''The jury disagreed and the district attorney made an investigation for the purpose of finding out what effect the prosecution's evidence had made. am told that this is what he learned:
 'fAs soon as the jury retired, or after they had smoked a cigar or two, they 4 voted on the three principal proposi- tlohs-did the defendants brother-in- law buy the pistol, did she take 1t into the cab, and could the man have com mitted suicide? How do you think they voted on these propositions?
 'They agreed unanimously that the brother-in-law bought the pistol, that the woman took it into the cab, and that 1t was physical impossibility for the man who had been Killed tc have committed suicide because of the nature of the pistol wound
 How do you think the jury stood when 1t was discharged. Eight to foul for acquittal.
 How did they reason It out? There is no way of telling. There is only one explanation, which may not be an ex- planatlon at all.
 T was told that one of the juror soon after they got to discussing tht evidence. said: I am not going througl life and be pointed out as one of the men who voted to send this woman tt the electric chair
 Its hard to figure 1t out" said the judge after pause. "Take the cast of couple of months back in which { jury tried to bargain with a judge.
 "A man was on trial for assaulting girl and the jury agreed that he wal guilty, but a few of them announced that they would not vote for convie, tion unless the foreman got promise from the judge that the defendant would not be sentenced for more thar two years. Of course the judge would not dicker with the jury and told then that they had nothing to do with tht sentence.