Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-09-20
SEPTEMBER GRAND
JURY SWORN IN BY
JUSTICE GUMMERE
Throng of Lawyers Present
When County Courts Are
Formally Opened.

All of the Essex county courts were
formally declared open today by Chief
Justice William S. Gummere, and the
September grand jury was sworn in.
Judges Jay Ten Eyck and Thomas A..
Davis and Judge Frederick Adams, of
the Supreme Court Circuit, occupied
the bench with the chief justice. Prac-
tically every law officer in the city was
represented and a threng of spectators
filed the body of the courtroom.
After court had been formally de-
clared open and the roll-call of the
constables in the Court House had been
answered, the chief justice ordered that
the grand jury be called in. Under
sheriff Charles Reilly, in the absence
of Sheriff Harrigan, who was reported
i'll, presented the grand jury to County
Clerk John B. Woolston, who in turn
presented the jury to the court.
The jurors were then sworn in, the
twenty fourth man, Edward Prock-
elmer, dropping out.
Chief Justice Gummere's charge was
as follows:
Gentlemen, since your predecessors
were discharged there ave been few
violations of sufficient Importance to
require special comment. l notice a
number among you who are beginning
your first service in a grand inquest.
Perhaps some of you are not familiar
with the duties of grand jury and 1
feel 1t my duty to say something about
the functions which you are supposed
to perform.
THE grand inquest is an arm of the
criminal law. It's object is to punish
those who violate hat law. 1t has
nothing to do with civil law. 1t is not
a part of it's duty to bring about re-
form in public government. 1t is its
duty to punish only those public Off
| Gals who have failed In performing
the duties of their offices.
"A grand inquest proceeds along the
same lines as court. Its powers are as
high-in some respects higher than
those of a court. 1t is answerable to
no one, as to its manne of procedure.
1t may often protect the guilty and
ever Cypress the innocent. But in this
county, although the grand jury has
such great powers, 1t has seldom, IL
ever, abused it's rust.
"Its procedure differs from that OF a
court. 1t acts not upon what some
lawyer may say, but only upon facts
1t should not be moved by hearsay;
not by what someone else has told, but
upon facts. The grand jury doesn't
hear testimony on both sides of a
matter; it hears only the evidence sub
mitted on behalf of the public and de-
termines from that whether or no an
Indictment should be returned.
At must refer to another part of the
duties of grand jurors. Sometimes
grand Jurors forget the solemnity and
Importance of their oath taken to keer
secret everything that happens within
the four walls of the grand jury room
They often let drop a few words rel
evant to what they have said or done
on a case; they forget that outsiders
piece together rumors coming from the
grand jury room nj that very often
the whole matter leaks out. This is
the reason that very often outside
pressure is used to influence the acts
of the Jurors.
Perhaps 1 have said more than is
necessary in ~instructing you, but it is
often we'll to go back to first principles
There are few special matters upon
which l need comment. The prosecutor
informs me that there have been three
homicide cases since the discharge OF
the last grand jury. In the first OF
these cases the one who committed the
homicide is under arrest In the second
case the guilty person is still at large.
In both of these cases / would instruct
you that if you ind evidence sufficient
that it would be better that you return
an Indictment for murder, rather than
for any of the lesser degrees of homi-
eide.
I'm the third case the homicide was
committed by a young mother, who
killed her child shortly after it had
been born. In this case / must warn
you not to be influenced by pity fol
woman. If evidence shows that she /:
guilty you should find an indictment
for murder.
Gentlemen, in conclusion, 1 would
say that If ever you desire instruc'
ton to determine the way you are tc
act the court will be always open tc
receive you"
When the chief justice had finished
charging the jury he and Judge Adams
made UP the call for the coming term
In the Circuit Court.
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