Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-05-06
THE
UNWRITTEN
LAW
By BASIL T. ANDREWS


u ~ 1CO pNliONC III wv
- sci of the juror
The judge raped his
gavel upon his desk There is no I'M
written law except the common law"
he announced, land the juror will take
his law from the court, not from his
conscience. The duty of the juror is
to bring In verdict upon the facts.
If man shoots another 1t is murder
or manslaughter."
The counsel bowed, the Juror sat
down in the box, accepted. Only the
prisoner eyed the Judge and smiled
cynically. Hardened as he was to his
duty, the Judge felt disconnected by
the prisoners gaze.
The case was simple one The
prisoner had shot the man who ran
away with his wife. He was willing
to take the woman back, and she had
already created scene In the court
room. But the judge was a stickler
for law, and everyone knew that, If
he could help 1t, the universal senti-
ment in favor Of the man should not
permit the jury to bring In any lesser
verdict than murder in the second de-
gree.
The Judge went home that night, to
be greeted by his smiling wife and
little girl. The judges home life was
exemplary. Nobody dreamed of the
judges past, least of all the woman
who shared his home.
Until the age of twenty-five the
judges life had been anything but
exemplary. He had run away from
home, loafed and generally been "a
good fellow" What singular phrase
However, there had been good at the
bottom, and at twenty-five somehow
the judge changed. Perhaps the
change had been working in him for
years, subconsciousIy. At any rate,
he threw off the old life, settled down,
studied law, became a famous lawyer
and was nominated to the bench amid
universal approval.
1t must be confessed that the Judge
was not greatly troubled about his
past. He thought that It was the aver
age past of young man. He had
never been In prison, he had never
stolen. The thing that sometimes
caused him bitter regret was an event
which had happened when he was four
and twenty--in fact, 1t lad been the
reaction from this which was the de-
terminlng factor in his life.
He had wronged one of his boon
companions. The mans wife, who had
a poor reputation, had become infatu-
ated with the young fellow, and they
had gone away together. They sepa-
rated week later She had spoken
of a divorce and asked him to marry
her; but somehow the Judge found
that he was of finer caliber than he
had thought. They separated, and he
never saw the woman or her husband
again. Years later, however, he heard
that she had died.
1t troubled him, but after all man
must live down his past and not brood
over it. The judge was an exemplary
husband and father. His little daugh-
ter ran to kiss him; ne folded his wife
In his arms.
what will they do with that poor
fellow Symons?" asked his wife later
that evening.
IF | had my way" answered the
Judge, 'he would go to the electric
chair. l don't think there is much
chance of that, however. Second-de
gree murder, IL l can swing IT,"
"The papers think he will be &C
quilted"
"That depends on whether the Jury
are honest men or sentimental fools"
"But, my dear, he shot the man who
had run away with his wife. Surely
that is not a crime that deserves Sc
we're punishment
81 do not think 1t does" answered
the Judge "My function, however, Is
not to pass upon the abstract right or
wrong of case, but simply to admin
lister the law. What that law may be,
is laid down by the legislature. I aim
to keep my court an honest one, and
to fulfill the law scrupulously."
His wife said no more. She knew
her husbands feelings in the matter,
and, while not sympathlzlng, recog-
nized his integrity.
On the next day there was another
painful scene in court. The wife Of
the prisoner stood up at the back Of
the courtroom and interrupted coun-
sci.
81 was guilty." she cried. HE did
right. Let him go, judgel Why can't
you let him goT'
"Be silent, womanw Numbered the
Judge.
IL will not be silent. / love him. /
was crazy when I did what | did.
Let him gow
An officer of the court succeeded
with difficulty In silenclng her. The
sound of her hysterical weeping filed
the courtroom. The Judge scOwled.
The case had already attracted unenvl.
able not0riety The newspapers were
full Of 1t. He was receiving criticism. !
And he felt the injustice Of 1t all
Nobody seemed to understand that he |
had placed his own sympathIes aside
No one thought that he might feel for |
the prisoner. No one understood thai
his function was simply to carry out |
the law.
And all through that day and the
next he felt the sympathies of the jury |
turn toward the prisoner, and he hard
ened his heart and resolved that the
verdict should not be acqulttal. All |
the while, too. he was conscious OF