New Britain herald., 1927-11-18
DEMANDS REFORMS IN COURT TRIALS
More Common Sense Needed, in
 Senator Norris Opinion
BY GEORGE H. MANNING


 (wa.hinston Bureau of the N. B. HeralJ Washington. D. C.. Nov. lS.-Tha re-establishment Of common sense in court procedure" will be the aim Of several bills to be introduced iuto the seventieth congress. which meets December ,.
 A rather extensive movement for changes in the jury system is ok pected to develop as result Of the recent oil trials and the revelations of jury -tampering in the EalI-0Ln- : clair case.
 No effort to abolish the jury system, or to have certain tech nical criminal cases tried h",ore two or three judges, sitting en hane. as was proposed by Mrs Auual!a L. Bailey Of the Fall-Sinclair jury vii. be countenanced, however hy Sana- tor George w. Norris os Nebraska, chairman of the senate judiciary committee.
 ''No matter how dumb we some time. think juries are, trial by jury !. less liable to corruption, pre1u- dice ,or lack of common sense than would be 8 system of trial by judges" Senator Norris believes.
 What We need to facilitate jus tice in criminal trials Is some means of having more intelligent juries, and q re-lniection ot com mon sense fir modern criminal trials. II Is a difficult thing to ac- ,complish by legislation, since court procedure has grown Topsy-likc and rot by statute"
 Three Reforms Proposed
 There are three reforms in court procedure which Senator Norris recommends, and he will introduce pills providing for them If some on" clse does not. The judiciary com mittee, he said, will take up such bills promptly after the session opens.
 The three reforms he thinks most urgent are:
 A. Attorneys should not he all lowed to object to prospective jurors a merely because they know something
 
 who have read newspaper accounts of the case, unless these jurors have .' already formed definite opinion;
 2. The jury should be allowed 10 consider the significance Of a de fendants failure to testify in his own behalf. and attorneys for the prosecution and for the defense should be allowed to argue before the jury the conclusions to be drawn from the failure of a defendant to testify;
 3. Judges should be allowed to grant immunity to witnesses If. hy testifying, these witnesses should tend to incriminate themselves, and should be able to require these Wit nesses to testify on pAnalty of con- tempt Of court
 The first Of these proposed ro. forms is in line with the deciara' tions of Chief Justice William II Taft on the need for more intelli gent juries.
 eve have lust had remarfabl. examples of the facility with whini lawyers can keep intelligent people who are informed on current ar. fairs from serving on iuries,' Sona' tor Norris said.
 There are certainly people Uht read the newspapers who can gr unpreiudiced to jury service anf form their opinion on evidence alone. Perhaps they are more ao customed to forming their opinion by weighing both sides Of questto' than are people who dc not koel informed on current affairs. Com mon sense tells us that well in formed and intelligent people mak the best iuries."
 Would Reduce Challenges
 Senator Norris believes that oac' side Of case should be alloW@ peremptory challenges, but not g many as are allowed in som courts. Each side could, w,thou giving any reason, object 10 as man