Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-23

ance, almost to the point of imbecil-
tty. or ineXcusable and criminal cor
| ruption.
Before being sworn in a felony
| case each individual juror is required
| to answer. on oath, these three ques-
| tons in order to test his impartiaiity:
First Have you, from having seen
! The. crime committed, or from having
! heard any Of the testimony delivered
on oath, formed and expressed an
| opinion in regard +" the guilt or in
| nocence of the prisoner at the bar?
When Disqualified.
IL he answers Yes, he is disquali-
| fed
Second. Have you any bias or pref
| udice liz your mind, either for or
against the prisoner at the bar?
! An affirmative answer to this ques-
| ton disqualifies him.
Third Are YOU perfectly impartial
between the State and the accused?
If the answer is in the negative, he
| is disqualified.
l therefore submit to every candid
mind that no man can truthfully ana
| honestly answer these questions ana
| permit himself to be chosen as a juror
| if he has upon his minG such a bias
| as amounts to a fixed opinion in re-
| gard to the guilt or innocence of the
person being tried.
| 1t will be observed, then, that the
| fault, if any, arising from failure of
! justice in a given case, in SO far as
| that failure rests upon the finding of
| the jury, it is not to be attributed to
| the jury system, nor ought the right
| of trial by jury he subjected to in
| vidious criticism because of the hap
| pening OF such an event. but, on the
| contrary, il should be attributed to
| the man upon whom the system oper-
| ates and who is engaged in the exc
| cution of the duties enjoined upon him
| by that system.
1t is therefore that l fear the defect
| tc which you refer lies deeper than
| the system. 1t is imbedded in the
| heart and conscience of the man who
| abuses his right to sit on jury.
If trial by jury as an institution for
| the administration of public justice
| (and by the term public justice
! means justice administered in ac-
| cordance with the law as opposed to
| that species OF private justice exem-
| plified in the so-called system known
as trial by mob) shall fail of the pu--
| pose for which it was originally de-
| signed. such failure must be attrib-
uted to the men by whom the law is
| administered, and not to other cause.
If men deliberately swear in rs
| jurors for the corrupt purpose of
| bringing about a particular result, or
| after being sworn in, if led by preju-
! dice they heed not the voice of rea-
son. or if overmastered by passion
! they should tear away the very pill
| lars of the temple in order to crafty
| their private malice or a supposed
| public demand for the sacrifice of a
| victim, it can not be supposed that
anv institution and withstand such an
/ assault.
Trial by Jury Sacred.
When violence rules the land or
| mad anarchy rides upon the wings OF
! revolution, we can not hope that JUS
! tice may assert herself; but when in
| normal times. people come to truly
| value fe liberty and the right to en-
! joy property, and the constitutional
| guarantees for stability, their minds
| will instinctively turn to the right of
| trial by jury as the one institution
which affords to them protection
| agalns the encroachments of arbitrary
| power.
The RICH of trial by jury lies close
| to the hearts of the American people
! 1t is sacred wherever the common law
| prevails. 1t is the sheet anchor which
| has steadied Anglo Saxon institutions
amidst the storms of revolution which
have threatened to overwhelm them
in the past
which has afforded protection to the
/.