Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-14
PANELISFIXED, SAYS ENGLISH
Twenty Men Discharged After State
ment Of County Attorney.
FOUR ASKED TO GET ON A JURY
Case ut Hand IL Trial of J. J. Wet
more, Indicted on Charge OF
Trying to Bride City
Prosecutor Daniel.

THAT panel has been fixed In advance
and 1 won't proceed with this case until
we come to some conclusion" was the
startling statement OF County Attorney
English in the trial OF the case Of ]. J..
wetmore, the self-styled detective, who
Is charged by indictment of the last grand
Jury with attempt to bride City Prosecutor
Darrell.
Judge Sears finally, after an investiga-
ton, discharged the entire panel and is.
sued a venire for a panel of twenty-five
other men, who, the judge said, do not
solicit places on juries."
The case came up for trial in district
court Wednesday. A panel of twenty
names had been drawn from which to
select the jury. When Mr.. English made
his statement he did not accuse any one
In particular of having done the fixing"
but merely made the sweeping assertion
that the panel had been fixed.
The court then stepped proceedings until
an investigation could be made. Ira Elan
reagan, deputy sheriff, testified that three
individuals had applied for places on the
psnel and were granted them. He named
Ben Keegan, Michael King, Dug A. Davis
and John Kane. One Of the three, how
ever, made application to one of the other
constables.
COnneII Makes Statement.
w. ]. Cornell, the attorney for Wet
more, said these men had been hanging
around the court house and had asked to
be placed. not on the panel from which
this particular jury was to be drawn,
but merely be given an opportunity to do
jury service.
The state law prohibits application being
made by anyone to sit upon a jury and at
taches a fine as a penalty TO rthose who
ask for jury service. This law was pointed
out to County Attorney English. but he
said he could not say att his time whether
the four applicants for positions on the
Wetmore jury will be prosecuted or not.
Few are not in the habit OF having four
or five irons in the fire at a time" said
the county attorney" and until we have
finished this bribery case. in which we are
now engaged nothing will be done toward
prosecuting these would-be jurymen, should
this department decide to bring action"
When the county attorney was asked If
he intended to prosecute Keegan, King,
Davis and Kane, he asked "Why?" When
he was told that the four men had vio-
lated the state law and that there vas a
statute provision against asking for places
on a jury he feigned surprise and said, lis
WV ~ was hNh ROlANO0 OAN lQt
law, which is section 1858 Of the statutes of
Nebraska for 1905, and reads as follows:
Any person who shall seek the position
OF juror or who shall asy any attorney or
other officer of the court, or other person
to secure his selection as a juTyman, shall
be deemed guilty of a contempt of court,
and be fined not exceeding $50 and shall
thereby be disqualified from serving as a
juror for that term, and such fact snail be
sufficient ground for challenge.
An Hours Recess Taken.
When he discharged the first jury panel
and issued orders for an entirely new
panel, Judge Sears adjourned court for one
hour on a plea of abatement made by
counsel for the defense. At the expiration
of this time the bailiffs had secured the
new panel, whom the judge dismissed until
Thursday morning at $3.50 o'clock. The
court requested that the names Of the
members Of the new panel be kept from
publication until the jury had been Sc
zoNal