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

mind that no man can truthfully and
honestly answer these questions and
permit himself to be chosen as a juror
if he has upon his mind 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 be subjected to in
Vidlous criticism because of the hap
pening of such an event, but. on the
contrary, it 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 | fear the defect
to which you refer lies deeper than
the system. 1t is Embedded in the
heart and conscience of the man who
abuses his right to sit on a jury.
If trial by jury as an institution for
the administration of public justice
(and by the term public justice l
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 pur-
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 as
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
revolution, we can not hope that JUS
tice may assert herself: but when, in
normal times. people come to truly
value life, liberty and the right to en-
joy property, and the constitutional
guarantees for stability, their minds
VIII instinctfvely turn to the right of
trial by jury as the one institution
which affords TO them protection
agains the encroachments of arbitrary
power.
The right of trial by jury lies close
to the hearts of the American people
II 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
1t has been the one institution
which has afforded protection to the
weak against the aggressions of the
strong, given shelter to the poor when
their rights were invaded by the rich
and powerful, and has at all times
been the sure refuge of the citizen.
whatever his station in life, against
those who. in violation of law, would
despoil him of his rights.
How to Preserve II.
You DO well say that the people
SnOuld take counsel of themselves as
to how this inestimable right may be
best preserved. There never was an
apter time for anxious and for sober
thought. Than the right of trial by
jury, there is none which should be
more scrupulouslv guarded against
the insidious influence of personal
corruption or ignOrance-a right
which the juror himself. by his inn
proper conduct may expose to public
ridicule or contempt.
Personally, ] have, all my life been
an ardent advocate of the strongest
possible requirements as to the quail
fications and character of jurors, and
judges as well. To fill the office of
juror or of judge. not only, in my
Judgment. should the incumbent be
man of irreproachable personal integ-
rity, superior to the minor prejudices
which sometimes enter into human
deliberations man of blameIess pri-
vate life, a man who. like the elder
Brutus, would sacrifice his own son on
the altar of his country's good-but
who should be a man endowed with
such a Spartan fortitude, such cour-
age as will enable and impel him to
do battle for justice and for right at
all times and everywhere. against
every enemy against law or order
from Whatever source opposition may
arise.
Defy Public, If Need Be.
Whether such opposition shall seek
to seduce him by the smiles of the
siren or to intimidate him by the
angry roar of the commune. let him,