White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-12
H Jury SYSTEM.


wrong with the American jury sys
TEN but just what it is we are un-
able to state at this time. A man
will be employed at his place of bust
ness, at peace with the world and at
tending to his own business in the
way in which ii should be done. An
officer will walk In the front door
and present him with a document
which commands him to appear in
the court room of the county upon
such and such a day at such and
such an hour to be examined as to
his qualifications to sit as Juror inthe
case of the state VS.. Blank. says the
Carson City News.
Mr.. Businessman is compelled to
rustic around and get his business in
as good a condition as possible, hire
a man 10 work in his place and on
the appointed day appear in court
He is called to the witness stand and
Is put through the third degree in
which every portion of his private
life is inquired into and from some
of the questions that are asked the
American citizen believes that his
correspondence has been read and a
the past twenty years. After he has
been soundly abused by both sides of
the case and made to think that he
is the man on trial instead of the
prisoner at the bar, he is accepted as
a juror.
Immediately he is sworn to do his
duty in all ways, to form no opinion
of the guilt or innocence of the party
at the bar until permission is given
c~ussing the subject of the case or
listen TO no one who wants TO talk
OF the case. When this is done he is
placed In charge OF the sheriff and
locked up in a private room to
spend his nights and days until the
case Is finished. He cannot receive a
letter until its contents have been
read by the officer in charge nor can
he send out a letter without per-
mission. The mar on trial is out on
bonds and enjoying life: he has bust
ness to attend to and can go and at
tend TO 1t but the juror is suspected
of all kinds of attempts to sell him
self or give a hint of the feelings of
his fellow jurors and is guarded
night and day. He is marched to his
dinner as conyicts are marched TO
their meals. II a friend waves his
hand at him as the jury passes by
and he returns the salute. he is child
ed by the officer in charge and there
after is especially watched and
guarded. The man on trial may
stand on the street orn with a
bunch of friends and laugh and joke
as the jury marches by but the jurors
must hang their heads and pass
along for fear they might catch the
eye of the prisoner and be winked
at.
Extra guards are sworn in and
guard every approach to the room
where the twelve men are huddled
in discomfort and private detectives
spend their time trying to find where
in one of the men on the jury has
said something about the case or has
done something in his lifetime
which he was ashamed of or which
might be used as a leverage to in
luenee the verdict. The jurors are
not allowed to read the papers until
they have been thoroughly gone
through by the officers and every
reference To the ease at bar been cut
out. Otherwise than all this the
jurors are as good as the prisoner.
When the case has been submitted
and the verdict rendered. the men
are branded as horsethieyes and
seoundrels because they did not de-
eide the other way. One of the at
torneys thanks them for their YER
diet and the other attorney makes a
sarcastic remarks about Justice"
and wonders what the verdict cost
the other side?
The American citizen demands the
right of trial by jury and always gets
IL but the man who suffers Is the
man who unfortunately did his duty
as a citizen and served on the Jury.