The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-12-07

fresh knowledge of how jury for
the district court is selected and. the
s.care with which the attorneys for
the different sides scrutinize the mem
bers and the oaths the jurors take.
The story is in the words of the
court officials practically as you
would have heard them II you had
been In court one day at the begin
ming of this term.
The members of the jury as drawn
by the Sheriff and District Clerk have
been brought into court.
Twelve men are called to the box
THE COURT-Swear the jurors as
TO their excuses.
COURT CLERK-"You and each OF
you do solemnly swear by the ever
4 living God that you will true state
ments make touching your grounds
for excuse. II any. from service as
petit jurors of the court.-so help you
Cod
THE CoURT-"Gentleme you
Nave been summoned here to serve
On InG Itkuldk VdhNi dS SaAoAo ~
the present term of the court; and
before hearing any excuses you may
have. l want to call your attention to
a few facts:
Nobody can serve on any jury with
out some inconvenience. and perhaps
some loss: but II is duty that every
good citizen owes to the community
to occasionally serve on jury. You
all may have law suits some day
you cannot tell how soon,-and when
you do you want jury of representa-
tive citizens; And the best jurors
are usually the busiest men we have.
i. The street losfers. and people who
are out OF employment.-who don't
want to work.-do not make good
Jurors.
The jurors on the regular panel
are drawn by chance. from the entire
county The county commissioners
certify list of three hundred names,
to the clerk of the court. And they
are put In the box; and the sheriff
Is called 10 the assistance of the clerk.
and they draw. by lot or chance. the
number of jurors desired for any par.
'-sicular term of court And the theory
of the law is that In this way jurors
will be drawn Unfortunately. from
the various sections of the county.
and win not come from one section
that they will be from all walks and
stations in lifc.-and so that they
viii be absolutely impartial.
Now when a Juror Is excused we
have 20 call In another juror 10 take
his place. either by drawing another
name from the box. or going out and
summoning the juror in on an open
venire, and the sherIn picks up any
one that he happens 20 see.
An open yenire Is objected to by
litieants and attorneys generally. be
cause II universally brings in jurors
from the Immediate locality OF Canon
City. and ordinarily We are liable to
get men that are not satisfactory ms
jurorH. and II we have 10 draw from
the box for the regular panel OF jur.
ors. in the usual way. II sometimes
necessitates an adjournment of court
for day or two until the sheriff can
get them. because we might draw
Jurors from the west ed Of the coun-
~ and from the east end OF the coun-
fsat the same time. and 1t takes time
to get them here.
SO that the cxcusing of Jurors
Z. ..r.. 49,
satisfactory. and in addition to that
IL incurs expense to the county: so
that the Court is under the necessity
of asking all Jurors to serve unless
their excuses are unusually good.
At this particular term We have
already had thirty.fve men summon
ed into court, this panel that is here
this morning making the total mum.
ber forty.hve.-and exclusive of you
gentlemen who are here now. we
have left eleven jurors in the box.
The others have been excused: and
there has not been a man excused
who has not been excused for splcn-
did reason. Some have been excused
for sickness, and some for being
over age: The statute makes an abso-
Lutte disqualification in certain cases
of man over sixty years of age. He
can serve on jury. but he can also
claim exemption. and IL he does. the
court must excuse him: and there are
other excuses which are binding.
want you gentlemen to under
stsnd the predicament we are in
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