Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-24
Another Grand Jury Fiasco.

\
three. Has the lesson been learned, or
must the community expect q fourth
such blunder?
Th.re is nothing to be gained at this
late date by condemning the pitiabie
demonstration that has just been made
by our legal machinery. 1t condemns
itself.
Something may be gained by examin-
Ing the system that has broken down.
And something will surely be gained If
| ordinary effort is made to remedy 1t.
A system that permits criminals, con-
victed and in jail, or persons OF unsound
mind, or even the deceased, to be sum-
mcned for jury service, as has been
the case here, is surely wrong. And
granting that an extraordinarily large
| proportion of the residents of the Dis
trict of Columbia are disqualified for
jury service because of their connection
with the Federal Government, a system
! that fails properly to anticipate this
difficulty in securing list of eligibles
from which to select the panels is faulty
and 1t should be corrected.
The gentleman whose presence on
| this present grand jury has served to
| invahdate, to q certain degree, all Of its
work should never have been a mem
Der. 1t is easy to say that had he prop
erly answered the questions put to him
and to other prospective jurorsAspe-
cif1cally the question do you get pay
or pension of any kind from either the
United States or District Govern
ment?"-he would have been excused
from service. But he failed properly to
! answer that question, and that failure
has now wrecked the work Of the Jury.
cost the taxpayers several thousands of
dollars and brought about a situation
that is ridiculous as well as deplorable.
Is this one man to blame, or must
one blame the system which permits
such q human mistake to occur?
The man who failed to answer the
question in the Affirmative was one Of
many men and women summoned and
drawn for jury duty. They were escorted
into court room and in the presence
Of justice Of the court q clerk read
to them number Of questions. There
were more than q score Of questions.
The man might have been slightly
deaf. His mind may have been on other
things. He may have had the same
difficulty in understanding the meaning
Of the clerks questions experienced be-
fore by more than one good man in
new surroundings who did not know
what it was all about. When he failed
to answer the question in the Affirmative,
he became, without further examina-
ton, member Of the grand jury.
The Jury Commission in the District
makes use of the telephone and city
directories IN getting names of persons
to summon for jury service. Some other
cities use the voting lists. In some
other cities prospective jurors are sum-
moned by jury commission, or ccm-
missioner, and personally interviewed
either by judge, assigned for that pur-
pose. or by the jury commissioner or
commissioners, who are full-tine sal
aired officers Of the court This prelimi-
nary interview weeds out the unfit. Those
who are qualified are card-indsxed.
Should one of them die, or should one
of them be arrested and convicted, the
name is wiped of the list. Those who
remain are at least qualified to oe
drawn for jury service. And there is
no danger of their having failed prop
erly to understand questions as to their
fitness. The questions have been put
in writing. the answers have been put
in writing.
Here in the District. with jury
commission serving part time and
much Of the detailed work Of summon
ing citizens fer jury service left to
clerks, proper care is not exercised in
! making up a list Of men and women
eligible for jury service. The results
of the system speak for themselves on
thct point.
And there is, of course, special need
for extraordinary examination of pro-
spective jurors in the District. The
layman may have dificulty in under
standing why man who draws a
pension from the Government is thereby
disqualified from exercising impartial
judgment as to the guilt or innocence
of a policeman alleged to have been
brutal to prisoners. But the courts must
look out for an implied bias" that may
not in fact exist. And the fact that q
man draws compensation from the Gov
eminent which Is prosecuting criminal
case is. in the opinion of the courts, All
/ implication of bias that is strong enough
to disqualify him from jury service
The system Of jury selection should
be made foolproof. either by legislation
or b. rules OF the court Legislative
oyerhaulirg OF some Of the provisions
CT the District Code, relating to the
qualifications Of jurors and the manner
of their selection, is probably neces-
sary. In advance CT this legislative
assistance. II is difficult TO understand
why the court cannot initiate Of its own
accord the precautionary steps that will
prevent repetition Of the farce just
witnessed.