Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-09-06
MYSTERIOUS WAYS OF JURIEs.
Things Beside Evidence That Decide
Cases.


cludes many men in public life, and
got to discussing the fate of case af-
ter 1t is left to a jury.
| The three men have had each in his
particular line many opportunities for
knowing o-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 i'm
portant cases, and the clerk has sworn
thousands Of juries and taken their
verdicts.
There was a case not so long ago.
said the lawyer, that received a good
deal Of attention from the newspapers,
but after the jury's verdict nothing
more was heard of It, 1t was one Of
the best illustrations l have ever seen
Of how a jury can misconstrue the ev-
idence and the instructions Of the
court.
] "The defendant was a man who had
been mixed up in trial that attracted
| the attention Of the country. At that
trial he was a witness and testified to
certain initials which he was supposed
to have written on document which
was an important piece Of evidence in
the trial. He denied that he had writ
ten the initials, although there was
testimony to the contrary.
when the trial was over he was in
dicted for perjury. The prosecution
made a determined effort to convict
him.
There was plenty of testimony to
show that he had written the initials.
Handwriting experts were brought In
and they swore that there was no
doubt that the defendant had written
the letters in dispute. Days were TAX
en- up in the trial. The young assist
ant district attorney who had charge
Of the prosecutions side made deter
mined fight and felt that he had
clinched his case.
1.-The defendant, as at the first trial,
denied most positively that he had
written the initials. The judge made
very fair charge to the jury. He
said that all the jury had to decide was
whether the defendant had written the
initials and whether he had testified
falsely at the first trial to protect him
self.
IF he had he was guilty Of perjury.
said the judge. The judge made 1t
plain what the jury's duties were and
they were sent out to deliberate. They
were out for several hours and then
acquitted the defendant.
well, 1t was a sad blow for the
young assistant district attorney. 1t
was days before he got over the ver-
dict, but he had almost forgotten It,
being engrossed in other work, when he
got a reminder Of the case that didn't
please him very much.
He was leaving an uptown hotel
latter having had dinner. when ne met
Tone Of the men who had been on the
Jury. The man walked up to him and
offered to shake hands.
1.-The lawyer had had a good dinner
and was in a good humor, although he
had no particular good feeling for any
member Of that jury. He shook hands
rather reluctantly.
81 suppose you'd like to know how
we came to that verdict said the ju-
ror.
81 would indeed said the lawyer,
none too cordially.
"'Well, you made out a good case,
said the juror There wasn't any
doubt in our minds about that. We
also voted unanimously that that fell
low wrote the initials. But we came to
the conclusion that he had not written
them with any criminal intent. Now
wasn't that all right?'
"As 1t wasn't a question Of criminal
Intent in writing the initials, but
whether the maker Of the Initials had
committed perjury in denying that he
had written them, the reasoning OF the
jurors was too much for the lawyer,
so he nodded good evening" and walk
ed out"
You may remember" said the court
clerk, taking a sip from a glass choked
with ice, "a murder trial not long ago
where a woman was the defendant.
"She was riding in a cab with 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 I 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 1t a physical
possibility for the man to have COM
mitted suicide?
THE man had been infatuated with
the woman, and that morning he was
to leave for Europe with his wife.
You may imagine that the prosecu-
ton used every effort to settle those
three points The representative or
the district attorney was a man who
| had q reputation as a capable prose-
cutor and an orator of no small pow
or. 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 prosecutions evidence had made.
I am told that this is what he learned:
| "As soon as the jury retired, or af-
ter they had smoked a cigar or two
they voted on the three principal prop
ositions-dd the defendants brother
in-law buy the pistol, did she take 1t
into the cab, and could the man have
committed 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 it was a physical impossibility Tor
the man who had been killed to have
committed suicide because of the ma
ture of the pistol wound
How do you think the jury STOOD
when it was discharged? Eight to four
for acquittal.