The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-24
The jury Trial Up to Date,

Two years ago woman entered the ONCE OF
the Paris Figaro and killed the editor. She was
the wife of government minister and the murder
was the tragic result of political quarrel At
the trial the woman, her husband and friends, as
we'll as her counsel harrangued the jury. Poets,
politicians and novclists made repeated passionate
appeals to the jury, and the woman acqut-
ted.
To Americans that jury trial appeared almost
farcical, but the French having adopted our jury
SYSTEM had improved upon the idea that the
twelve in the jury box should simply weigh
the evidence and render a verdict in accord with
the facts The French idea was that the jury
held the fate OF the prisoner as had the Judge in
the old days, and any kind of appeal to the
twelve was justified Hence the introduction
OF tears, sobs, passion, sentiment. poetry and clo
quence, and more attention given to these dra-
matte accompaniment than to the cold facts.
Have We now come to accept the French idea
OF jury trial? In the celebrated trial just closed
at Syracuse there suggestions of following
the methods employed with such success in Paris,
and OF further liberalizng the old matter-of-fact
jury trial. The defendant addressed the jury from
the witness chair, and neither the attorneys nor
the judge could prevent him from speaking to
the twelve men in the jury box just about as
he has been accustomed to speak to large crowds
of admirers from the political rostrum. His
friends who appeared witnesses also went be-
yond the mere facts and gave the jury the bene-
fit OF their views on politics, social justice and
other questions. His counsel put sentiment
and passion than argument into his address to the
jury.
All this was much like the trial in Paris, but
after the jury had been out for twcntyf four hours
another innovation was introduced The fore
M IN he iudp i,Iry
ready to report-not that they bad agreed-and
when they entered the courtroom he requested
that they he allowed to express their position by
rising vote. That not IL order but the
jury was polled. 1t had not agreed. One man
voted for the plaintiff there in open court. 1t
innovation and it had its effect. 1t pointed
out the one juror who obstinate, made him a
marked man. that not only in the jury room,
but on the street in going to ana from meals the
lone juror able to that he was9ery much
alone. After another twentv-four hours he sur
rendered and voted to make the verdict unani-
NOUS.
Some OF the lawyers advocating a change
in the New York constitution that will authorize
a majority or two thirds OF the jury to find a
verdict. If jury trials in the future conducted
was that at Syracuse there will be no occasion
for the change. The jury be brought into
court and polled from time to time so that popu-
lar pressure be applied to the recalcitrants
until they into line with the verdict already
rendered by the populacc. Some of judges
have pointed out the danger of trial in the news
papers and some have gone far to try to
prevent the publication OF testimony given in
court because it might popular prejudice.
The innovation at Syracuse beats trial by the
newspapers because it brings to the front the per
Sona element and personal magnetism of the
litgant statement in cold type can do. Ii
has many OF the advantages OF political rally OF
i camp meeting. 1t beats the Paris jury trial.