The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-06


 Chapman J. Hodges of precinct 37, vice president of the Cosby Flour and Grain company, was named as foreman of the grand jury for the April term, which was organized and impaneled by Judge H. P. Heflin yesterday morning in the first division of the criminal court Judge Heflin made his first charge to a grand jury yesterday and was commended for the completeness and business-lil1e tone of the charge. He confined himself to the explanation of the general and spe- cial charges.
 In concluding his explanation of their various duties Judge Hefln suggested that the grand jurors use the same com mon sense in making their investigations as they did in their own business mat ters.
 Following the organization of the grand and petit juries, Judge Heflin took up the case of Jessie Rowland, a negro wom- an, charged with assault with intent to murder on former Deputy Sheriff l.. F.. Clayton, who was shot last June while assisting in arrestng Sam Rains, a ne- gro desperado. Mr. Clayton appeared in
 court yesterday as witness for the
 state. He is permanently injured and
 walked into the court on crutches. The
 woman was present at the shooting but denies any part in it. The states evil dence was concluded last night. The case will be continued this morning.
 NOnjury Cases Before Fort
 Judge ". E. Fort took up several non jury cases, including the hearing of evil dence as to the sanity of Chester Sawyer, young white man charged with grand larceny. A number of witnesses testified as to the mental condition of the young man, including his mother, and at the conclusion he was ordered taken to the asylum at Tuscaloosa by the court. Judge Fort also took up the motion
 for continuance in the case of Harry Lane, white, charged with being a pick pocket Continuance was resisted by As- sistant Solicitor Walter Brewer and the case was passed until Thursday morn ing As some doubt \existed as to the real name of the defendant, the grand jury impaneled yesterday returned an- other indictment against him under the name of Murray Lane.
 A conviction by the jury was the re- suit in the first criminal case tried yes- terday by Judge John H. Miller, who
 was recently appointed to assist the crim- inal judges in clearing up the criminal docket. The case was that of Louis Kim bell charged with grand larceny. The jury found him guilty of petit larceny. Assistant Solicitor James Davis prose- cuted in Judge Miler's division Judge Heflin's charge to the grand jury in part is as follows:
 Heflin's Charge
 Ut is the duty of the grand jury to in-
 vestigate all crimes and public offenses
 committed in the county and if the evil dence is sufficient to indict every violator of the law.
 Tn the investigation of a charge for any indictable offense, you can receive no other evidence than is given by witnesses before you, or furnished by legal docu-
 mentary evidence, and any witness may be examined and compelled to testify as to any offense within his knowledge, I without being specially interrogated as to any particular person, time or place. "The law requires you to hear evidence only on the side of the prosecution. The | defendant has no right to appear before you or to have his witnesses testify in his behalf, as he will have full opportunity, if indicted, to make his defense in open court at the time of his trial
 'To justify the finding of an indict- ment, you must be convinced so far as the evidence before you goes, that the accused is guilty: in other words you ought not to find an indictment unless In your judgment the evidence before you, unexplained and uncontradicted, would warrant conviction by the petit jury. Yet as the grand jury is the accuser, the rule of reasonable doubt does not apply to it's deliberations.
 "A felony is public offense, which may be punished by death, or by confinement in the penitentiary. All other public of lenses (than felonies) are misdemeanors. Tn all felony cases it is the duty of the grand jury to find an indictment against
 the accused if they are convinced of his guilt from the evidence presented before them. They have no discretion but to n- dict in such cases. But in misdemeanors, except as to those I will mention special 1 ly, the law gives the grand jury the dis erection not to indict where no prosecutor | appears, unless 12 of their number think | 1t necessary for the public good.
 If any grand juror knows, or has req | son to believe that a public offense has been committed. which may be indicted and tried in this county, 1t is his duty to | disclose the same to his fellow jurors, who must thereupon investigate it. | "A grand juror must not be present at | or take any part in the deliberations of | his fellow jurors respecting any public | offense with which he is charged or which
 was committed against his person or prop erty, or when he is connected by blood or marriage with the person charged
 Aid From Solicitor