Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1908-02-04
TRIAL BY JURY
(Tip-of-the-Tongue, in New Yorh
Press


In our great and glorious country |
we decide everything by the majority |
except civil and criminal cases in
court and blackballing in clubs. Now,
if a mere majority of one electoral
vote in a total of ATS is sufficient to
elect president of the United States,
il is reasonable that unanimous
verdict of twelve men mot all good
and true) should be required to de-
eide as to the guilt or innocence of a
prisoner? Suppose the electoral col
lege consisted of 100000 voters,
and what we term the popular vote"
was to decide the presidency. All the
winning candidate would need would
be 6,50O,O01 votes.
Let me tell you story of recent
trial had it of one of the jurors,
a we'll known and highly esteemed
business man. A maid-of-all-work
fell into coal hole which had been
carelessly left open in a citizens
front yard. Egged on by an un-
scrupulous lawyer she sued for $780,
900 damages, alleging serious injur-
les which threatened to cripple her
for life. There was not much trouble
in obtaining a jury and the trial did
not last forty weeks. Eleven impul-
sive men agreed that the maid was
clearly entitled to $4,000, and not a
man jack of them had the remotest
| doubt that such a verdict would be
! the very exaltation of exact justice.
The twelfth juror had not seemed
to take an interest in the discussion
He sat in a corner, apparently read
! ing a paper. BY and by the eleven
| turned to him and asked what he had
to say would he agree to the ver-
dict? Laying down his paper, he
said Gentlemen, ! have not been
reading, but listening. Permit me
to say that you are about to commit
a most grave blunder. | am a ply
stefan. Here is my card. You can
easily look up my record. | have
heard every word of the testimony
and, as a professional man, | know
positively, and will stake my reputa-
tion on it, that the injuries which
this woman alleges she received by
slipping into the coal hole could
never have been caused by such an
accident. If you will bear with me
for little while / will prove to each
and all of you that l am right.
This juror had such way with
him, he was so calm, his language
and manner were so impressive, thai
the eleven wanted to learn more. He
sent for charts, diagrams, medica
works, ETC., and in a very short time
convinced the eleven that the entire
case of the woman was fake In
, stead of rendering verdict for $40.
600 they made it matter of few
dollars; and all on the say-so of on
; man who knew something. The jur,
/ has learned since that the injuries t
{ the maid were of the most trivia
character 1t is my solemn opinion
and | cannot repeat it too often, tina
: there should be special judges 70
special trials, and special juries, toe
In Scotland the jury consists O
:. fifteen, and they very sensibly abid
by the will of the majority. AS
!. veteran Scot but it to me: "Th
unanimity of twelve men good an
true-on any subject is nothing Blu
a chimera. man coerced-as h
very often is-against his will Is {
the same opinion still. No time
lost in Scotland. in civil cases {
least, as a jury can always give
verdict by majority after lapse ,
three hours.
The basic principle of the Scotc
nature Is an innate sense of iustlc
The jury has the pleasure Of giyln
the prisoner the benefit OF u
doubt"-with a verdict OF n,
nroven " This a but right as n n,