Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-02-09
nuIlHN OF JURORS.

Jury Ncrdictn seldom command Eon-
,rai approval. In all trials there are
snmc 10 ca,ll at the vcrdic,s, in addi-
ton % those who are convicted by
thcm Aud local sentiment frequently
h az variance with the Judgment Of
tho Jury iu ciyll or criminal trials.
iNcaucn,ly. nlso. II II dIfncult 20 un-
d,'s,and by what processes Of rea-
sonlnr , Jury arrives a, its oonclu-
sion.
nut a trial jury a. n sovereign |
body, and ne long as tho custom is adj
hcrcd 60 ., u the duty OF fshc copmu-
nifty 70 bow IN submission. no matter
how dsiastcin tho verdicts may be. |
or how far they may appear 20 go
arainat the dictates Of Justice. Trial
by jury has been adhered TO FOR
nearly thousand years. and. despite
tho frequent idiosyncrasy Of jury
,criicts. has maintained Cts hold upon
ri,hllo opinion as tho best method OF
trying those charged with crime. or
determining matters at issue between
man and man. And as long as this
feeling prevails, n r. the duty Of COM
munlues 10 accept jury vordicts with
all possible complacenoy, and not de-
uounco The system when an occasional
verdict shocks the public mind by its
approach 60 a ,ravosty ON Justice.
Abiding to the very common prac-
ticc of condcmninr iuries for verdicts
that offended at least some measure
OF public opinion, Judge Charles
Hickey Of the court OF Niagara county.
y. T.. delivered a very able disqui-
si'lon on the subject OF respect for and
acoulcscencc In jury verdicts. and
urcn tho duty OF trial Jurors. His
remarks were .nci,cd by a consider
ahlo measure OF public indignation
at q jury verdict. which resulted in
the holding Of a meeting OF ccndem-
nation. The next day he addressed
the Jurors sitting In his court at Nj
arsra Falls. as follows;
You men are sworn when YOU first
como into court to well and truly try
and true dolivoranco make in such
cases as shall be brough, before you
Then when you are put IN the box
SOU are again sworn TO render a true
and impartial verdict upon the evi-
dcnco. and ! say TO you gentlemen
tina, when you do rSndcr a fair and
impartial verdict upon the ovidenc,
ard upon your conscience. there i,
no one IN a position 90 call you 10 ac
count therefor. You are anrwerahl,
for ,hcrc cascs TO your own conscience
and YOU are not answcrable TO IN
sheriff Of the county or TO any othe
public official In or out Of the county
when YOU are here in court YOU ar
here under the control and under tn
direction 81 the court. You are a
arm II the court and you are not an
swcrahlo 20 the sheriff or 70 any othe
public Official but TO the court.
Ecu are not here. scntlemen, as tn
Orccial representatives Of the pcopl'
~ some would probably think; 20
ar. no, here as tho representatives {
persons accused Of crime. but you az
here because you are supposed I
-tsnf absolutely impartial and indi'
t-ront between tho people On the or
aide and the person accused of erin
on the other side. That is what jul
ore are Tor. And. M stated befor
when Jurors render "A verdict aocor,
lnr 60 their conscience and accordir
To their oath they are not anrwerab
Go anybody but their own conscien,
Zoe such verdict"
This advic, IL sound and practics
II n advice that should be needed
oil citisens who may bc drawn Z
Jury service. They are sworn 10 re
der verdic,e "accogding to the e,
dencc." and this they should do.
the hes, of their ability. in all cas-,
when they do this there viii be \,
ius' occasion 20 challenge the, v,
diets they render.