The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-23
JURY LAW SAID To
Be VERY GOOD ONE
Commission Mil Be Charged
With Selecting Juries
CHALLENGES ARE BARRED
New Law Is Endorsed BY Alabama Bar
Association and Has Clear Pro-
vision for Punishment of
Jury Fixers.
CHALLENGES ARE BARRED

Jury Fixers.
Montgomery August 22.-(Special.)-
few minutes before adjourning on Satur-
day, the senate amended and passed the
house bill providing for the selection.
drawing and empaneling of grand and
petit juries in all of the courts of Ala
bama. II is practically certain that the
house will concur in the senate amend
ments, and assuming this to be done
an outline of the act as it will go to the
senate is given, as its friends claim that
1t is the very best law on the subject of
juries that has ever been enacted for this
state.
commission of three, appointed by the
governor, is charged with selecting every
qualified man between the ages of 81 and
65 residing in the county, whose names
shall be placed in the jury box This
takes the selection of jurors away from
county officers, and out of politics. From
this box the judges draw all juries,
grand, petit and special for every case
In every court SO that in no case under
no circumstances, can any officer select
juror, but all Jurors are drawn by the
judge from the jury box.
This provision secures equality in SER
vice, for whenever a name is drawn
from the box and the juror sworn, his
name is not put back into the box until
1t has been exhausted and re1lled, but IL
excused for any cause except for disqual-
ification his name is Immediately re-
turned to the box, so that he may be
drawn subsequently.
Must Take Good Men.
The commission must select all men res
idents of the county between q and 65,
who are generally reputed to be honest
and intelligent men and esteemed in their
community for integrity, good character
and sound judgment, and no habitual
drunkard nor man afflicted with per-
manent disease or who cannot read Eng
fish, is qualified to serve on juries. In
case man cannot read English and pos
sesses all the other qualifications pre-
scribed In this act, and is freeholder
or householder he may be selected.
! All school teachers, judges and clerks Of
| federal and state courts, attorneys at
law, physicians, surgeons, dentists, phar-
macists, nurses, officers and servants of
any hospital, the sheriff and deputies,
| United States marshal and deputies, train
dispatchers and chief telegraph operators,
! police officers, members of fire depart
ment, all state and county officers, JUS
tees of peace, postmasters, superintend-
! AMI NJ oil hat Of oIor
superintendent of street railroads, en-
/ gineers and pilots of steamboats,, rail-
| way mail clerks, railroad station agents
and superintendent of mines are exempt
| from jury duty.
No More Challenges.
The present plan of empaneling juries
! for trial Of criminal cases is changed SO
| that under the new law there are no
challenges, but all juries are Struck"
| the solicitor striking off one name and
| the defendant two names till IL remain,
and when two or more defendants are
tried Jointly, every defendant strikes a,
| name for every one struck by the So
| licitor.
| The law is modelled after the Dallas
| county jury law, which has been in
| bench, bar and the people since 1882 and
/ differs in principle from the Dallas jury
| law in only one particular-the judges
| draw all juries under this new act while
| the commission drew the grand and petit
| juries for regular terms and the judges
| the special juries under the Dallas jury
| law.
Bar Endorsement.
| The new law has the Endorsement of
| the State Bar association, and but for the
earnest close attention given it by the
| committee of the Bar association 1t would
| not likely have passed.
The commissioners will be appointed by
| the governor within 30 days from the ap-
| prevail of the act, and are required to
| meet on tho first Monday in October, 1909,
| at the county seat of the several coun-
ties and proceed to make jury roll and
| fill the jury box with the names Of all
men qualified for jury duty
! The clerks of the circuit court in all
| counties having less than 5000 popula-
ton may be employed as clerks of the
| commission at 50 per day, and in all
| other counties the commission is en-
| powered to employ clerk, to be paid
| IS a day and give his whole time to the
| discharge of his duties. He cannot hold
any other office during the time he Is
employed by the jury commission.
No Juror drawn or summoned unuer tnlS
act shall serve until the first Monday in
January, 1910, and all jurors required
for service up to that time shall be
drawn. summoned, empaneled and serve
under the law now in force.
VIII Distribute Acts.
This law and all other general acts
passed at this special session of the leg
islature will be distributed to all pub
| lie offices in a few days. long before
| the acts can be bound and distributed as
| heretofore.
It is claimed by the lawyers who drew
| this Jury act and who are familiar with
| the working Of the Dallas jury law that
| the reign of the Jury fxer'' and the day
| of the professional" Juror will end on
| December 81, 1909.
"If this proves trie." says Col 8. w.
| John of Birmingham, this law will be
worth far more to the people of Alabama
than the whole cost of this special SEES
! sion. Let the good citizens of Alabama
rejoice at this great reform. and let the
| democrats Of Chiffon, Shelby and Win
ston shout the glad tidings, for they are
free to serve on juries."
BY the last federal census Jefferson
| county had $40, 40, Montgomery 72,047, Mo-
bile g. TAO. So that only the commission
! of Jefferson county can employ clerk at
| Sc a day till the next census, when other
| counties may come into this class
/
Fatally Burned BY Explosion.
Bowling Green, KY, August 22.-Red-
11a n a r.