Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-05
IN THE JURYROOM.
Strange Verdicts and Odd Occurrences
Recalled by Business Man.

Recalled by Business Man.
What was said in an editorial arti-
Gle in the Sun on March 9, about the
foolish verdicts rendered by juries is
all true. 1t would take a whole page Of
the Sun to relate the ridiculous and
curious things l have experienced in
thirty years of service in juries, grand
and petit Federal and state. I've been
ashamed OF the verdicts I've had to
concur in civil cases rather than have
disagreement that would be dreaded
by both parties.
remembered a case where u servant
sued the administrator of an estate for
large sum in lieu of support for life,
which she claimed had always been
promised her by the deceased. To me
and to three or four others of the jury
it was plain that the whole thing was
cOncOcted by the wOman's attorney,
in $4,000 award to the woman. The
defendants attorney assured us after
ward that while it was an absolutely
cold steal. they'd rather pay that sum
it implied to the estate.
In another case smart lawyer had
bought up the claims of a dead and
gone company Of some kind down
south and came north to try to COL
lect from some of the original stock
holders. He sned a well known gen.
tleman of stanling in the United
States court before Judge Lacombe,
and the defendant employed Mr..
ChOate to represent MIN. The whole
thing was so prepOsterous that Mr..
Choate said but little and the jury was
sent out. To the surprise of eleven Of
us there was on the first ballot one vote
for the plaintiff. We began to discuss
the matter. and one of the jurymen
who sat quietly filling his pipe, said:
"Gentlemen, it's no use discussing this
matter That was my ballot, and If we
stay here year you will never get me
to vote in favor of that blankety, blank
blank (naming tine defendant.) I'm en-
ployed in the custom house, and some
time ago, when that fellow was re-
turning from Europe. he treated me as
If 1 were dirt under his feet. and here
is where | get square with him, d-n
him" We of course had to report a
disagreement. and at the same time
gave a statement Of the matter to
Judge LacOmbe.
I remember humorous incident oc-
Cured in Judge Pcckham's court. A
tedious case had dragged along. and
on Friday the judge told us tnat court
would sit on Saturday. Several of us
business men didn't want to come to
court on Saturday, and during lunch
time we arranged with one Of our num-
ber Hebrew. to demonstrate against
serving on mis- Sabbath, and get us dis
charged until Monday. Well. when
court reconvened we pushed our little
man up to the front, and as soon as he
spoke to the judge we saw there'd be
something doing. The judge called up
Tracy, and there was quite a confab.
resulting in the judge informing us that
with consent of counsel he was going
to withdraw a juror and go on with the
case on Saturday with eleven jurymen.
Our little game had been entirely sue
cessful for the Hebrew.
If there were space to spare l could
give innumerable instances of both the
sad and the humorous side of jury
trials. Think of being on a jury for n
year in the Emma Mine case" and los
ing your business and becoming a
bankrupt through it, as some men did.
Think Of a Federal court sitting five
days with twelve jurymen and such
counsel as the late Leon Albeit and
Edwards Pierrepont to decide on the
loss of a sloopload Of potatoes, frozen
on their way from NOvia Scotia. I'll
bet Judge Wallace remembers it.-New
York Sun.