The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-05-17
Adequate Quarters Provided in
County Court House.
They Will Fill a Long Felt
Want.
COMPLETE ISOLATION.
No Chance in Future to Tamper
With Jurors.
Are Located in Southeast Cor
ner on Third Floor.

New and adequate quarters for the
jurtes in the district court to use during
their deliberations on cases have been
provided in the county court house. And
they will certainly fill a long felt want
Under the old conditions, which have
maintained ever since the court house
was built, the juries have been locked
up in small room to the east of the
court room proper and in the suite which
comprises the judges chambers. Twelve
men more than comfortably filed this
room and it was absolutely without IA
ciIities of any kind such as are needed
by jurors when their deliberations ex-
tend over a period of several hours
During such lengthy deliberations as
these it has been necessary for the
ba1in to escort the jurors either as
body or three or four of their number
at a. time to the toilet rooms in the
basement of the building which took
them through open Railways and down
through two rather dark stairways 1t
has frequently been the case during
such trips that Ioungers around the
nails of the court house who were in
terested in one way or another in the
cases pending would make remarks
about the cases that could be overheard
by the jurors and remarks that might
tend to influence them in arriving a a
verdict.
Such actions were especially notice
able during the present term of the dis
trict court when several important cases
were tried concerning the violations of
the prOhibitory law. While these trials
were on the court house was literally
infested with jointists and bartenders
who took every possible occasion to ex-
press their opinions on the cases in the
hearing of the jurors as they went
through the Railways.
This was a condition of affairs that
Judge Dana decided could not be toll
Grated any longer and he took steps
recently to have them obviated by pro-
viding adequate quarters for juries.
At his request the county commits
SiOners decided to fix up two large
rooms on the third floor of the court
house in the south east corner and di-
rectly over the judges chambers for
use as jury rooms. These rooms are
large. light and airy and have such a
large doorway between them that for
large room. Immediately off these
rooms is a toilet room A heavy oak
doom will be put in at the hallway
leading to this suite of rooms and
when a jury has been locked up in
them they will have no cause to leave
them for any purpose except to re-
port back again to the court.
These new roomsare easily accessible
from the court room. as the private
door to the judges chambers opens
Immediately on the stairway to the
third floor and the top of this stair
way is within a few feet of the en-
trance to the new jury rooms
These new rooms have been thor
oughly cleaned, repainted and fixed up
in the best possible shape They will
be provided with comfortable chairs
for the use of the jurors 1t is expect
ed that they will be ready for use when
the court gets down to business on
Monday
And when jury is once locked in
these rooms its members will be iso-
lated completely from any possible
outside influence. and such condition
of affairs will be welcomed strongly
bv all of the county officials who are
charged with the administration Of
Justice.