Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-07-12
THE Jury SYSTEM

The New York Tribune makes
some interesting comment on the
jury system in this state as a result
Of the recent action in Atlantic
county. The Tribune says:
The charges against the Sheriff
Of Atlantic County, N. j., which
have moved a Supreme Court Justice
to Iake from him, as unfit to perform
it, the customary duty-of empanel-
ling a jury, may Inlay not be-H9e,
If they are traathey not only con-
denim the Sheriff but they also con-
stitute a grave Indictment Of the ira
dttional jury system of that state.
II they are not true, the fact that
they might be true that Is, that it
would be possible for precisely the
things to be done which he is charg-
ed with doing-is ample food for
thought concerning the need Of q
radical revision of the jury system.
There were gross frauds in At
lantic County at the last election.
That is SO obvious as to be beyond
reasonable dispute. The only Dues
tiOn remaining Is, Who Is responsible
for them? An employe Of the Sher-
itf's office says that the Sheriff, sub
sequent to the last grand 1ury's ses-
sion, took from the County Clerks
office two registry books, and that
after they had been returned 1t was
perceived that the check mark before
the name of a certain voter in one
OF the books had been erased. That
voter Is said to have been registered
! ntwo districts and to have voted in
both, and this erasury of the mark
therefore for the purpose Of conceal
ing evidence Of his double voting.
That voter was a member of the
grand jury which was in session
when the alleged tampering with the
record was committed. 1t is under
stood that this story is denied by the
Sheriff and that several witnesses
are ready to declare its falsity. But
the Attorney General of the state,
as well as a Justice of the Supreme
Court, thinks enough of 1t to declare
that the Sheriff Is unfit to draw a
jury for the special session of court
which is to deal with the election
frauds, and therefore the jury which
the Sheriff called has been dismiss
ed and another will be summoned by
elisors-a Republican member and
a Democratic member of the Board
of FreehOlders. This Jury will CON
slider the conduct of the Sheriff, as
well as the alleged election frauds.
There does in any cas- seem to
be some incongruity In permitting a
sheriff to draw the panel for a jury,
and particularly for a grand jury
which is to have or may have some
political matters to investigate. For
the sheriff Is a political officer. He
Is chosen as a partisan. Often he Is
a party leader or a boss. He is
therefore not politically impartial.
And apart from election cases there
are many cases coming before both
grand and petit iuries in which po-
litical interests and considerations
are involved. These circumstances
explain why various juries in certain
New Jersey communities have declin-
ed, or at any rate have failed to act
IN cases involving violations OF the
election laws and the statutes against
gambling. The proposal has been
made that there should be a perma-
nent and non-partisan jury commits
sion, perhaps judicially constituted,
which should have full charge OF
drawing juries. That may not be a
counsel of perfect wisdom, but al
least it should avoid some of the po-
tentiol evils Of the present system
In any case the action of the Attor,
ney General in this case will serve
to emphasize the urgent need o.
some reform which shall assure the
state that the jury system viii not
be perverted to the protection Of
criminals"