Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-01
Improper Drawing of Grand
Jury Against Defendants
Assigned as Grounds
for Ruling.
ALLOW ELEVEN FREEDOM
County Clerk Held to Have Failed
to Have Filled Out Records of
Board Creating Inquis-
itoriaI Body.

Judge w. H. Gest this morning
filed in the circuit court a ruling,
given upon motion entered by the
attorneys for the defendant, quash-
ing the grand jury indictments charg-
ing conspiracy, perjury and embezzle-
ment against the IL persons who
are alleged to have been RESPONSE
BILE for the financial wrecking of the
local insurance society, the Frater-
nal Tribunes. The grounds for the
granting of the motion are cited in
the failure of County Clerk H. B.
Hubbard to meet the statuatory re-
quirements in calling the meeting Of
the board of supervisors at which
the members of the indicting grand
jury were selected. The ruling of
Judge Gest in full is as follows:
''The first point presented upon the
motions to quash indictments, in
numbers 1884. 5,255 and 1886, is
the alleged illegality of the grand
jury that found the indictments, and
the claimed ilIegaIity is based upon
the alleged illegaIity of the meeting
of the board of supervisors at which
the grand jury was selected. The
special meetings of the board The
meeting at which this grand jury
was selected was not a regular meet
ing. The statute provides for
special meetings of the board. The
meeting at which this grand jury
was selected was not a regular meet
ing. The statute provides that
special meetings of the board OF
supervisors shall be held only when
requested by at least one-third of
the members OF the board, and speci-
flying the time and place of such
meeting, upon reception of which
the clerk shall Immediately trans
nit notice in writing of such meet
ing to each Of the members Of the
board. The clerk shall also cause
notice Of such meeting to be pub
lished in some newspaper in the
county. IL any there be- Section
10 Of chapter So, of the revised sta
tistics, provides: The duties of the
county clerk shall be. first, to act
as clerk of the county board OF his
county, and to keep an accurate rec
ord of the proceedings of said board
The statute concerning the obtaining
Of a grand jury for a term of court
reads: If grand jury shall be re-
CURED by law or by the order of
the judge for any term of court, it
shall be the duty of the county
board in each OF the counties in this
state wherein such court is directed
to be holden, at least 90 days before
the sitting of such court, to select
% persons, possessing the qualiffca-
lions as provided in section 2 of this
act and as near as may be a proper
tionate number from each town or
precinct in their respective counties,
to serve as grand jurors at such
term, and to cause their clerk, with
in five days thereafter to certify the
names of the persons SO selected as
grand jurors to the clerk of the
court fol- which they are selected,
who shall issue and deliver to the
sheriff of the county wherein the
court is TO be held, at least 10 days
before the term OF the court for
which they shall have been selected,
or during term time if the court
shall so order, a summons COM
handing him to- summon the persons
SO selected as aforesaid to appear
before such court at or before the
day of the term or upon such other
day as the judge shall direct, to
constitute grand jury for such
term
Records of Clerk Given.
Upon these motions the defend
ants have filed, among other papers,
a duly certified copy of so much of
the clerks record of the meeting of
the board of supervisors beginning
on the 14th day of March, 1910. at
which this grand jury was selected.
as shows the converting order. the
selection of the grand jurors by
name, and the final order of adj
journment of the meeting on the
18th day OF March. 1910. The con-
vening order is as follows. Pursuant
to a call of one-third of the mem