Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-02-24
JURY COMMISSION
BILL AN ODD ONE
Its Enactment Will Bring
Sweeping Changes in
Court Procedure.
TFrom a STAN Correspondents

TRENTON, N. j., Feb. 24-The new
the Legislature last week to carry
out the views agreed upon by a ma
jority vote at the conference between
Governor Wilson and the Democratic
members of the Legislature contains
some interesting provisions not gen.
orally known.
In the first place the bill, if it be-
comes law, will not go into effect
until the first day of June. This
means that in every county of the
State the sheriff will have the NAM
ing under the present law of one more
grand jury. There are fifteen coun-
ties of the State in which the spring
term of court opens in April, and in
The remaining six the spring term
opens in May.
The new bill which was introduced
by Assemblyman Zisgen, of Bergen
county, and is known as House bill
1852, provides that when iuries are
selected by the commissioners the
court in which the grand jurors shall
be sworn shall select and designate
one of said grand jurors to act as
foreman. This takes away even from
the commissioners the selection of
grand jury foremen. Tive bill also
provides that when any person has
served either as a grand or petit
juror he shall be ineligible TO serve
again either as a grand or petit juror
for space OF one year
The commissioners, who shall he
two in number, in each county, shall
EACH but with the provision that in
the original appointments one COM
missioner shall be appointed for one
year and one commissioner for two
years The two commissioners in
each county must not be of the same
political party, and they are not per-
mitted to hold any other public office.
Their salary, which is to be fixed by
the Governor. must not exceed 5000
year each and must be paid by the
county.
The Governor is not only given the
power to appoint jury commissioners,
but he is also given unqualified power
of removal Of commissioners from
office
The manner of selecting grand and
petit jurors is fully set out in the
zisgen bill. The commissioners, at
least thirty days prior to the COM
mencement of each term Of court,
are required to make two alphabeti-
cal lists of persons liable to jury duty.
One list, to be the grand jury list.
shall consist of not less than 200
names, and the other, the petit jury
list. shall embrace at least 500 names.
These lists are to be submitted 10
the Supreme Court Justices of the
circuit in which the county is To-
Gated. and said justice. may at any
time order said commissioners TO re-
wise, correct and certify new list
or lists.
After these preliminary lists are
made up and passed upon by the SUI
preme Court justice there shall be
selected from such list In the presence
of either the Supreme Court Justice
or the Common Pleas judge a smaller
list which, in case of grand juries,
shall consist of seventy-five persons
and in the case of petit jurors
number equal to three times the
lection of these smaller lists is to be
made by lot, and finally again by lot
selection is to be made of the actual
number required for grand and petit
jury service. There is a provision in
the bill that so far as practicable
there shall be in the selection OF
both grand and petit juries a fair
and Just ton to the vari-
Gus wards and municipalities of the
county.
There is also provision in the
bill intended for the larger counties
that the Supreme Court justice may
designate panel of petit jurors to
serve only for a portion of the term
of court and may require the drawing
of new panel for the remainder OF
the term.