Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-11-06
Jury REFORM LAW
PUZZLE TO ESSEX
COUNTY OFFICIALS
Time New Measure Goes Into
Effect Perplexes Sheriff
and Prosecutor.

While the jury reform bill was
favored at the election in this county
by majority of about 5000 votes the
question of when it will go into effect
is one that has a number of Essex
officials guessing.
The probability is that they will
continue to guess, until next Satur-
day at least, when the question will
be put up to Chief-Justice William s.
Gummere.
Complete figures on the vote on the
referendum are not available from
all parts of the State, but there seems
to be no question that the jury re-
form bill carried by q big majority.
Hudson county. the home of Cover
nor-elect Fielder, an ardent advocate
Of the bill, piled up q big majority for
it. Essex county gave it 5000. The
fact that Essex county, where 1t was
supposed the hardest fight would be
made against the bill, voted in favor
of 1t makes 1t a certainty that 1t car
ried the State by a big majority
OF the One Or','en.
/ Prosecutor Louis Il rhn
x Nc 5 1Ss aass sIsfs ffis three Essex
county officials most vitally interested
in the jury law. They all are Drac-
tically Of the same opinion-that is,
that the new law will not affect the
Jury system OF the county until after
at least the first panel of grand and
petit Jurors has been drawn for the
December term of court.
The new law provides 1t shall go
into effect on the fourth Tuesday In
November, which is November 20.
The opening of the December term Of
court falls of Tuesday, December 9,
just two weeks later.
1t Is provided in the law that a jury
commissioner of the opposite political
faith of the sheriff shall, with the
sheriff, be known as commissioners
Of juries.' and that these commits
sioners SHALL at least thirty days
prior to the commencement of each
term OF the Circuit Court prepare
two lists of Jurors, one to be the
''grand Jury list and the other the
petit jury list" In the law the
word SHALL is used, thus making it
mandatory that the list be prepared
thirty days In advance of the opening
day Of the succeeding court term.
The law provides, further, that at
least twenty-five days before the
opening of the court term the COM
missioners shall furnish to the county
clerk copies of the jury lists to serve
as document of public record. and
shall also furnish the justice of the
Supreme Court assigned to the
county q copy of the lists. All this
has to take place twenty-five days
before the opening day of the court
term.
Fffteen-DHy Provision.
Then comes another provision
which states that mot more than
fifteen days before the commence
ment of each term of the Cir
cult Court the county clerk shall pre-
sent in open court to the justice Of
the Supreme Court assigned to the
county or in his absence to the pre-
siding Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas the jury lists filed with the
county clerk and at the same time
the Jury commissioners shall, at the
same time and place, produce uniform
pieces of metal with numbers stamped
or impressed thereon in consecutive
order to SO correspond with number
set opposite the names of the jurors
on the lists"
The drawing of the jury then pro-
ceeds In the same manner as at the
present time.
By the foregoing it can be seen that
the list shall be prepared thirty days
in advance of the opening of the term
of court. In the present instance the
next term of court opens on Decem-
Der .. The list to comply with the
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