The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-09-21
VIOLENT DEATH
CASES AHEAD OF
new GRAND JURY
Busy Session in Store for Sep
tember Body, Sworn.
In Today.
JUSTICE GUMMERE
DELIVERS CHARGE
Trolley Victims Suing for $780,
900, Low Record, for
Injuries.

With charge by Chief Justice Gum
mere to the first September grand jury.
covering cases of violent death. the
September term of the county courts
started in full blast today.
Edward M. waldron is the foreman
of the jurors. They will be kept busy
for the next six weeks trying to dis
pose of some six hundred cases. The
whole twenty-four drawn appeared. but
Gustave A. Schaaf as the last on the
list, was excused from service so as to
bring the number down to the conyen-
tional twenty
During the past summer" said the
chief justice, "there have been fifteen
cases of violent death that have oc-
Cured in this county. Some of those
deaths occurred by accident. Two of
them were the deaths of men who were
injured and died from the effects of a
collision of two wagons, The others
were cases of deaths of children run
over by trolley cars
1.-The fact that these deaths oc-
Cured by accident does not excuse the
persons responsible to the criminal law.
Whether 1t does, or does not, depends
upon what these facts turn out to be.
"The general rule which should gov
ern you in considering this class OF
cases is that where an accident Is the
result of negligence, he who caused the
death as the result of negligence, is
not criminally liable unless his neglect
has been so gross as to eyince reck-
less disregard for the life and limb OF
the person who has been killed. II
such reclS1essness has been shown, II
will be your eaty to indict. II sucf
recklessness does not appear, ther
such person is not responsible to tbs
criminal law, but to the civil law, fol
punishment.
There are two other cases, cases OF
Illegal operations, and in each the VIC
tim died. The statute makes this
crime a high misdemeanor and severe
punishment is provided for the person
who performsi the operation. But in all
cases of that kind, or In most of them
the person who performs the operation
is not the only guilty person. There is
generally man who is responsible for
her act / think that in investigating
cases of this kind. not only should the
man who actually performs the opera
ton, but the man who is the moving
cause be found equally guilty.
"Another case" added the chief jus
tice. relates to a homicide which &C.
Cured during the summer in oui
county jail, where a man in custody or
charge of murder, who had procured
deadly weapon, a steel or iron instru-
ment, which he had sharpened to q
point, and attacked one of the keepers
and seriously injured him."
The court then detailed the shooting
of Angelo NJ. Caprio by John f. Corby
one of the keepers of the Jail, August 1;
last, while Caprio was trying to Kill
two other keepers, and said that the
statutet6learly stated that where one
person killed another while that person
was attempting to commit burglary ol
murder the person so killing was guilt
less.
"If this keeper who shot the prisoner
shot him while he was attempting to
commit murder" said the court in con
clusion, "in the very language of the
statute he is guilty of no criminal of
fense."
Constables Charles F. Hummel and
Thomas Burns were appointed to guard
the grand jury room.
Some changes In the constabulary
force made by Sheriff Harrigan was
the dropping of Harry Rawnsley OF
Orange. and Alfred Husk, of the
Eleventh ward of this city, and the APP
pointment of John Farrell, of South
Orange, and Abraham Lehrich, of the
Third ward, in their places.
With the chief justice on the bencf
were Judges Adams and Heisley, Of tA'
Circuit Court, and Judges Ten Eycl
and Davis. of the Court of Common
Pleas. After disposing of little matters
of routine the chief justice turned ovel
the trial of the Supreme Court Gircui
cases for the term to Judge Adams
Judge Heisley will try those of tht
Circuit Court.
One of the facts connected with thu
opening Of the courts is that the mum
ber of trolley cases listed for trial dur
ing the new term is unusually small
40 per cent less than those of the las
term. The number on the list now Il
1876. and averaging $1,000 for each sui
brings the total clean mp to $630,000, {
record as far as The smallness of tn,
is