The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-06-24

Valley City, n. D.. June 2l.--LP)-
the jury IS the last bulwark Of the
liberties Of the citizen, a necessary
and spensable part of our Amerl-
can machinery of justice. Judge
Sveinbjorn Johnson, associate justice
of the state supreme court, said here
today in an address at the formal
dedication of the new Barnes county
cours house.
Tracing tho history of the jury
system from its inception in England.
Justice Johnson declared 1T is one
of the most glorious facts in Anglo
Saxon history that jury of II good
men and true, in grave crises stood
between the arbitrary exercise Of
the royal prerogative and the natural
rights of Englishmen; the venal
abuse OF the judicial character by
corrupt and subservient Judges and
the liberty or life OF the humblest
subject of an English king, protect
ing both from destruction and ami
mated always by the spirit Of free
dom which has Informed the polit
zeal institutions Of Anglo saXons
since the earliest times.
Remained Firm
"Although sometimes thrown into
prison for returning verdicts in favor
Of some victim Of despotic authority,
by Judges plant and submissive to
the royal power. the jurors of Eng
land stood firmly in defense of the
traditional and constitutional liberty
of Englishmen. Drawn from ,he
body Of the people. then as now. and
returning again when their work was
done to minglc and become lost in The
mass from whence they came, they
spoke through their verdIcts the col
lective conscience Of the nation upon
the great principles OH which the
lives and liberties of men havo found
security against power and It's UNI
warranted exercise"
Taking issue with those who would
discard the jury system Justice John
son attacked the "so-calletl reformcr
who sees only the faults Of the system
but is blind TO its many virtues. IL
an arm or leg offends we do not forth
with cut it offs VIZ, cure it if we can;
amputatc it only If We must. lie!
us try therapeutics before we rush
to tho operating room.
'For the purpose | have in mind
the major portion Of the jury systems
faults may be summarized under the
general description OF il-considcrcd
or responsible verdicts. There arc
defects in our judicia! administra-
ton which cannot DE charged to the
| jury. With these | am not now CON
cerned There is only one remedy.
only one specific for the judicial all
ment, the source of which is in the
| jury box, and that is to raise the
, ave gage level Of intelligence and
J character Of the men and women
drawn for jury duty. This can be
done without inconvenience, without
expense and without annoyance.
! Juror Is Court Officer
"And now may ! address a few
words directly to the township, vii
lage and city officials who select the
persons from whom the jurors are
ultimately drawn? In the first place
you do not always clearly realize
that the person you name for jury
service will, if drawn, be an officer
who has a most responsible and
important part in tho administration
OF justice. You do not have before
you the everlasting truth that his
complicated civila or criminal case,
great Importance or the honor and
liberty Of the citizen, may be clothed
with the finality Of decree of
Jehovah. You do not bear in mind
that the Juror you are choosing is a
4 part of the court and has function
to perform scarcely less important
than that Of the judge OH the bench
and that the findings Of this person
on the facts, if there be some sub.
stantial evidence to- support them
will not and cannot be diStu rhed by
the highest court in the land.
+. Averring that an ignorant, thought
SON is "misfit and an abomination
upon = jury" the. speaker said. III
IL just such men In the jury box ,tha
make the jury system Ridiculous ana