Court Opinion

ID: 9452155
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 17:31:35.239245+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:05.472578
License: Public Domain

GEWIN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
This case, involving one of the most heinous crimes ever committed in the rich and varied history of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been lost in the “nice, sharp quillets of the law.”1 I respectfully dissent, and in doing so challenge the interpretation of the facts, the reasoning and the legal conclusions applied to the facts in the majority opinion. I do not disagree with the abstract legal principles discussed, but the record does not support the facts found in the opinion; and therefore, the application of such legal principles to the facts found results in error.
A careful analysis of the opinion will clearly demonstrate that there has been a serious misconception of the issues we are called upon to decide, a misinterpretation or failure to accord proper weight to certain salient facts and an inaccurate interpretation of the prior decisions in the case. Moreover, a close scrutiny of the history of the case presents in bold relief a typical array of current tactics too often employed by criminal defendants,2 bordering upon if not actually constituting oppression and harassment of an important witness for the prosecution; an unmerciful attack on counsel and court alike; the assertion of issues which can best be disproved by witnesses who are now dead; a shifting of issues and the assertion of new issues after losing on the ones first asserted;3 a strong and venomous condemnation of state and sometimes local federal courts; the claim of newly discovered evidence; and the allegation that conviction was based on coerced and fraudulently obtained evidence.
Nothing herein said is meant to relate to the question whether the law providing for capital punishment in aggravated rape cases is good or evil for the residents of the State. That decision must be *730made by the legislative branch of the state government of the State of Louisiana. Furthermore, we must consider the case with the realization that we have no power to pardon, or to exercise executive clemency.
I. The Issue
The only issue 3a before us is succinctly and clearly stated in the per curiam opinion of the Supreme Court, United States ex rel. Poret and Labat v. Sigler, 361 U.S. 375, 80 S.Ct. 404, 4 L.Ed.2d 380, in the following language:
“The judgment is vacated and the case remanded to the District Court for disposition of the question whether members of petitioner's race were deliberately and intentionally limited and excluded in the selection of the petit jury panels, in violation of the Federal Constitution.” (Emphasis added.)
There should be no argument about the fact that the question we are to determine is whether there has been a Federal Constitutional infringement with respect to deliberate and intentional limitation and exclusion of the petitioner’s race in the selection of petit jury panels. The majority opinion does not deal with the issue of deliberate and intentional exclusion on account of race in the selection of petit jury panels. It is concerned with grand juries, economic considerations in jury selection in civil cases, and omits consideration of evidence relating to the issue of deliberate and intentional exclusion.
The District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, United States ex rel. Poret and Labat v. Sigler, 234 F.Supp. 171 (1964), proceeded exactly in accordance with the mandate of the Supreme Court. It did not rely “on the ubiquitous fiction of waiver” quite as heavily as the majority indicates.4 What the majority quotes from the opinion of the District Court would be characterized better as the District Court’s summary of the holding of the Supreme Court in its first review of the case on certiorari to the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Michel v. State of Louisiana (Poret and Labat v. State of Louisiana) 350 U.S. 91, 76 S.Ct. 158, 100 L.Ed. 83; reh. den. 350 U.S. 955, 76 S.Ct. 340, 100 L.Ed. 831. I quote from the opinion of the District Court:
“They failed to make such objections timely, and hence, as previously decided by the United States Supreme Court in this very case, they are now deemed to have waived those objections.” (Emphasis added.)
*731Regardless of the consideration given to the waiver question by the District Court, it actually proceeded to a full hearing on the issue of the composition of petit jury panels. Again we quote from the District Court’s opinion:
“Even though this Court is convinced that petitioners’ objections to the make-up of the jury come too late, nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, detailed testimony was taken concerning the composition of the petit jury involved and concerning the general practice in the past in the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana, in selecting and drawing juries. A review of this testimony convinces this Court that there is simply no merit to petitioners’ contentions.” (Emphasis added.)
II. The Facts
A. Deliberate and Intentional Exclusion from Petit Jury.
The Court extensively quotes Judge O’Hara who testified in the case. The most lengthy quotation, however, is from an opinion by him rendered in October, 1952. The opinion is unreported, but from the lengthy quotation it is clear that Judge O’Hara was dealing with grand juries. At least Judge O’Hara’s opinion was designed to correct any abuse which existed in the peculiar manner of selecting grand juries in Orleans Parish prevalent at the time of his decision. It seems fair to say that the only question involved was not systematic exclusion “from Parish juries” but systematic exclusion from the grand jury. The action condemned by Judge O’Hara was the practice of the Orleans Parish judges in selecting grand juries under the old system. There is no mention of the jury selection officials who compile the general venire or jury wheel. Indeed, his opinion indicates the presence of Negroes in the jury wheel or on the general venire. His testimony showed that for 16 years prior to trial in this case the names of colored persons had been placed in the jury wheel and that colored persons constantly appeared on the general venire.
Here again we emphasize that the issue here involved does not relate to the grand jury but to “the selection of petit jury panels.”
Accordingly, it seems more appropriate to quote the testimony by Judge O’Hara who appeared before the District Court as a witness on behalf of the petitioners with the expressed assertion by counsel for the petitioners that the evidence taken at the trial was for .the benefit of both Poret and Labat. Judge O’Hara testified with respect to the method of selecting petit jurors in Orleans Parish for the actual trial of cases at the time of the trial of Labat and Poret and the period immediately preceding the trial. This fact makes his testimony unusually important. It is factual and not a theoretical, statistical estimate based on incomplete figures. We quote both from the testimony of Judge O’Hara given in open court and from his deposition. The following is a fair sampling from his testimony:
“Q. On hardship reasons, did you show any discrimination in releasing or failing to release anyone, white or black?
“A. No.
“Q. On account of their color?
“A. No. There was no discrimination whatsoever.
“Q. Now, the same way as far as the exemptions, whether a man was white or colored, if he said he was a schoolteacher or a municipal employee, or over the age of sixty-five, would it make any difference whether he was white or black?
“A. No.”
******
“Q. Judge, what I am trying to do, and I am not trying to do anything except what is strictly one thousand percent correct, without taking advantage of anybody, in the stipulation it is shown, which is already a part of the record in this case, that a certain per*732centage as to how many people actually serve on the juries who are white or who are black. Now, I was going to ask and Mr. Gill anticipated this, in the question, when men were excused or challenged for cause or preemptorily challenged, no discrimination was made by the judges, including yourself?
“A. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. If the juror, the prospective juror was challenged for cause and happened to be white or happened to be a negro, it wouldn’t make any difference. It would be a question of what the cause was whether he would be excused for cause or not.”
In speaking of a jury venire of approximately 150 persons, Judge O’Hara testified as follows:
“Q. Do you recall during the period that I mentioned, [1948-1953] whether or not it was general to find Negroes serving on the panels of veniremen for the petit jury in Orleans Parish?
“A. I would say yes. I would like to be a little bit better on the dates. Yes, the answer is yes. We had colored persons on the jury venire, I guess from the latter part of 1930.
“Q. From then on?
“A. Then on.
“Q. Where they there in any substantial numbers?
“A. Well, I would consider that there were a representative number of Negroes on the panels.
“Q. By a representative number, what do you mean?
“A. Well, I would state that in the City of New Orleans there are a whole lot more whites than [sic] are able and qualified to serve on juries than Negroes, and the number of Negroes represented the best effort of the Jury Commissioners to get Negroes on the panels.
“Q. Were there as many as one-third of the veniremen Negroes in any of the venires you handled during that period ?
“A. No.
“Q. Would you say there were as many as 20% Negro?
“A. 20% would be about thirty.
“Q. One-fifth?
“A. No.
"Q. Would you say there were ever as many as 10 % ?
“A. Oh, yes.
“Q. At times?
“A. I would say there were never less than that; I would say that it would run about between 20 and 25.
“Q. —Negroes on the panel or the venire ?
“A. Yes. It would run about 20, 22, 23, 18, 16. Some months there would be more than others.
“Q. Are these absolute figures, or percentage figures ?
“A. From my own estimation, the colored people would run from about, I guess about 15 to 25, or maybe a little less than 25 — 22, 18.
“Q. You are talking about in absolute number, now, Judge?
“A. Yes.
“Q. The Judges had nothing whatever to do with the selection of petit jury veniremen; is that correct?
“A. That’s right. That was just by the Jury Commissioners. Now, I would interest myself from time to time to see what the Jury Commissioners were doing, and it was always my observation that they were trying to get as many colored in the jury wheel as they could.
“Q. Did you ever make a statistical analysis of the number of Negroes that were included in the jury wheel?
“A. No, but I do know that the Jury Commissioners would ask Negroes to give them the names of other Negroes, and they would ask the members of the Negro corporations, insurance companies and whatever sources they thought they could get Negro jurors from. They would make inquiry. I am not talking about the administration; I am just saying from time to time I would *733interest myself because I wanted to see what they were doing.”
******
“Q. Would you feel that a large percentage, or at least a significant percentage of wage earners that came to you with this excuse would probably receive, or, in other words, their excuse would be granted?
“A. Yes.
“Q. Did you find too that a large proportion of those persons who came to you with this request for excuse on the grounds of being wage earners or day workers were Negroes?
“A. Well, there were quite a few Negroes would ask to be excused for that reason. There was no discrimination made, I would like to say that. Whatever applied to the white would apply to the colored, and whatever applied to the colored would apply to the white.
“Q. But at the same time, you did find there was a significant percentage of the excuse for being wage earners which were made by Negroes?
“A. Yes.
“Q. —Veniremen?
“A. Yes. That was one of the great difficulties of getting colored people. For instance, a man would come up and say, T am a porter, I work for a small salary someplace and have got a family,’ and not getting paid if he doesn’t work.
“Q. If a man had come up and said that, given you that excuse, one man white and another man gave you the same excuse and he was colored, they would be treated alike ?
“A. Yes.”
******
“A. I could say this, that I know of no plan or desire on anybody’s part to minimize the number of Negroes in the wheel.”
B. The Stipulation.
In Section II D of its opinion the majority asserts “[tjurning to the facts showing the operative -effects of the Orleans Parish jury system, we find that many of the facts have been stipulated.” The opinion does not then fully quote the stipulation, but immediately turns to certain statistical reports set forth in Appendix A to the opinion. Thereafter, in dealing with the subject there is a resort to mathematical calculations, percentages and other statistical data. Later in Section III of the opinion, to support its conclusion and finding of a “failure of the jury commissioners to take any action to compensate for the exclusion of Negro wage earners by seeking out additional names of potential jurors raising an inference of purposeful discrimination”, there is a lengthy quotation from the stipulation. The stipulation was jointly signed by counsel for all parties and it states “that the following facts may be taken as having been proved and true or are the subject of judicial notice of the Court.” 5 The stipulation was offered on behalf of Poret and Labat and it would seem to me they should be bound thereby. The majority opinion takes note of the stipulation and quotes certain portions of *734it at length in Section III. The sequence of the numbered items lifted from the stipulation and quoted in the body of the opinion is as follows: Items 10, 11, 12 (13 omitted), 14,15. There is a failure to take proper note of the contents of Item 13. It is only set forth in a footnote. It appears to me that Item 13 is as important as any of the other items contained in the stipulation. It reads as follows:
“13) That although prior to February, 1953, no Negro had ever served on a petit jury empaneled to try a negro in the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, since 1936, the Jury Commissioners for the Parish of Orleans had certified negroes as qualifying under the state law in petit jury venires in numbers approximating 10% of the venire.” (Emphasis added.)
Item 13 of the stipulation and Judge O’Hara’s testimony are not in conflict. Tfhe Judge indicated that at least 10% of the general venire were Negroes; the stipulation states approximately that number were Negroes. Under the practice, petit juries which actually served as trial juries were taken from the general venire, at least 10% of which was composed of Negroes.
The mathematical calculations set forth in Section II D of the majority opinion are confounded, confused and completely nullified by the percentage figure stated in Item 13 of the stipulation and by the testimony of Judge O’Hara which we have quoted above.
In spite of what the majority says about the reliance of the District Court on waiver, the District Court did go into the merits of the question whether there had been deliberate or intentional exclusion in the selection of the petit jury. A hurried glance at the District Court’s opinion, 234 F.Supp. 171 at 178, makes this assertion obvious beyond any doubt. The District Court gives a full discussion of the facts and the reasons for its conclusion. It is simply not a fair appraisal of the opinion to state that it is based on waiver.
C. Deceased Judge and Deceased Lawyer.
A great controversy has arisen in this case as to when Labat and Poret attacked the jury system and the number of Negro jurors appearing on the panels at the time. The majority opinion itself is rather confusing as to just when the attack took place as I will show later in this opinion. One thing is clear, however, the two most important witnesses who could testify about the subject were dead when Labat and Poret made their frontal attack during the last habeas corpus hearing before Judge West in the District Court. Death has locked the lips of these key witnesses and concealed the facts about which they could testify. There is no intimation as to what the testimony of Judge Fred Oser would have been if he had lived.
The deceased attorney, Mr. Mahoney, is given the questionable accolade of having caused a default characterized as “the inadvertence or mistake of an ill and aged court-appointed attorney.” Moreover, he is indirectly accused of having committed a “venial sin” because of hindsight judgment as to the tactics he should have employed. I do not accept these accusations or conclusions. Mr. Mahoney was not known to the writer, but certainly his long record as an honored criminal lawyer who served in his profession for 50 years justifies some answer to the accusation out of sheer respect for his memory as a lawyer, if nothing else. The determination of the Supreme Court in Michel v. State of Louisiana (Poret and Labat v. Louisiana) 350 U.S. 91 at p. 101, 76 S.Ct. 158, 164 seems to be appropriate and sufficient. After accepting the holding of the trial court and the Supreme Court of Louisiana that there was no showing of a lack of effective counsel, the Supreme Court concluded that there was little support for the accusation against Mr. Mahoney. The court noted that Mr. Mahoney was a well-known criminal lawyer with nearly 50 years experience, and it concluded that there was no evidence of incompetence. Speaking on this question and also the question of a failure to *735make an immediate attack on the grand jury, the Supreme Court asserted in footnote 7:
“On the contrary, Mr. Mahoney, since deceased, was recognized as an exceptionally qualified counsel. On June 1, 1955, the legal profession in New Orleans honored him with a plaque which cited him as ‘an astute and honored criminal lawyer who has ever been mindful of the oath administered him 52 years ago to uphold the law and to guarantee to each accused his day in court.’ As pointed out in the State’s brief, whether or not to make an immediate attack on the grand jury was entirely within the discretion of Mr. Ma-honey and there were valid reasons for not doing so at the time.” (Emphasis added)
D. Time of Attack on the Jury System.
In the beginning the opinion states that the petitioners “consistently and unsuccessfully” asserted that they were denied a fair trial resulting from the systematic exclusion of Negroes. Later, however, the majority opinion concludes that after reading old briefs and records the attack was not aeutally made until the habeas action was filed in 1957 and that the failure of counsel to do so was a “venial sin”.
Once again it is necessary to emphasize that we are not dealing with a grand jury question here. The mandate calls for consideration of exclusion “in the selection of petit jury panels.” Evidently, the Supreme Court concluded that the grand jury question had been settled 6 because the mandate of the per curiam remand mentions “petit jury panels” only. Actually, that issue was settled when the case was first reviewed on writs of certiorari to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Michel v. State of Louisiana, supra. Judge West, as well as Judge Wright, took note of this fact as is obvious from Judge West’s opinion in 234 F.Supp. at p. 174 where he quotes from the opinion of the Supreme Court.
It is apparent that the Supreme Court considered the Louisiana Statute, Art. 202 so strongly criticized by the majority, as a valid state statute of limitations. A statute of limitations cuts both ways. As stated by the Supreme Court in Pendergast v. United States, 317 U.S. 412, 63 S.Ct. 268, 87 L.Ed. 368:
“Every statute of limitations, of course, may permit a rogue to escape.”
On the other hand, important policy considerations are involved,7 as the Court pointed out in Chase Securities Corp. v. Donaldson, 325 U.S. 304, 314, 65 S.Ct. 1137, 1142, 89 L.Ed. 1628 (1945):
“Statutes of limitation find their justification in necessity and convenience rather than in logic. They represent expedients, rather than principles. They are practical and pragmatic devices to spare the courts from litigation of stale claims, and the citizen from being put to his defense after memories have faded, witnesses have died or disappeared, and evidence has been lost. (Citing authority) They are by definition arbitrary, and their operation does not discriminate between the just and the unjust claim, or the avoidable and unavoidable delay. *736They have come into the law not through the judicial process but through legislation. They represent a public policy about the privilege to litigate.”
E. Attack on Witness, Coerced, Testimony, New Testimony.
The majority opinion points out that the application for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana filed September 18, 1957, was based on newly found evidence that a witness’ testimony was perjured and coerced. Footnote 11 of the opinion also states that in addition the petitioners claimed that they had discovered .a witness, one Elnora Henderson, who had not testified at the original trial, but who was now available. Her testimony would show that on the night of November 11, 1950 (the rape was alleged to have been committed early in the morning of November 12,1950) she spent the entire night with Labat, that he was so drunk during the early morning hours of November 12 that she was unable to arouse him even though she massaged his body with ice cubes. It is difficult to see how such evidence or such a witness would be newly discovered; because if the alleged testimony were true, certainly Labat would have known about Elnora Henderson and where he actually was when he did awaken. He was a part of the newly discovered evidence and an actor on the scene.
In the first habeas corpus proceeding in federal court, Labat v. Sigler, 162 F.Supp. 574 (1958), it is interesting to note the position taken by the petitioners. As observed by Judge J. Skelly Wright, the conviction had already been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Louisiana, State v. Labat, 226 La. 201, 74 So.2d 333, and by the Supreme Court, Michel v. State of Louisiana, 350 U.S. 91, 76 S.Ct. 158, 100 L.Ed. 83. In that application the petitioners claimed they were convicted on perjured testimony of Earl Howard, a disinterested state witness, which perjury was coerced by the police. That issue was neither raised nor passed on during the original state court trial. Judge Wright commented as follows with reference to the pressures that had been placed on the witness Howard:
“Unquestionably, as the evidence shows, he has been subjected to great pressures from persons seeking to help these petitioners since his testimony in the state court.”
The Court concluded that there was no evidence whatever, aside from statements prepared by others for Howard’s signature, that he had either committed perjury or was coerced into doing so by the police.
Nor was Howard the only witness involved. Judge Wright further stated:
“While Howard definitely was an important witness in the state’s case against the petitioners, the testimony of Penedo and Miss Rajek was at least as important. Both specifically identified the petitioners, not only in the state court trial but in this court, as the two persons who had raped Miss Rajek. Their credibility is unchallenged except in so far as the possibility of human error is always present in the identification of persons in the circumstances in suit.” (Emphasis added.)
In the circumstances, Judge Wright subjected the evidence “to the severest scrutiny,” but he denied the writ.
III. The Law
Returning again to the issue before us, namely, “whether members of the petitioners’ race were deliberately and intentionally limited and excluded in the selection of petit jury panels,” we turn to the most recent case decided by the Supreme Court, Swain v. State of Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 85 S.Ct. 824, 13 L.Ed.2d 759. Within the first page and a half of that opinion the Court sets forth the law bearing on the issue we must decide:
“Although a Negro defendant is not entitled to a jury containing members of his race, a State’s purposeful or deliberate denial to Negroes on account of race of participation as jurors in the *737administration of justice violates the Equal Protection Clause.” (Emphasis added.)
******
“Nor is the constitutional command forbidding intentional exclusion limited to Negroes. It applies to any identifiable group in the community which may be the subject of prejudices.” (Emphasis added.) ******
“But purposeful discrimination may not be assumed or merely asserted. Brownfield v. State of South Carolina, 189 U.S. 426, 23 S.Ct. 513, 47 L.Ed. 882; Tarrance v. State of Florida, 188 U.S. 519, 23 S.Ct. 402, 47 L.Ed. 572; Smith v. State of Mississippi, 162 U.S. 592, 16 S.Ct. 900, 40 L.Ed. 1082; Bush v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 107 U.S. 110, 1 S.Ct. 625, 27 L.Ed. 354. It must be proven, Tarrance v. State of Florida, supra; Martin v. State of Texas, 200 U.S. 316, 26 S.Ct. 338, 50 L.Ed. 497, the quantum of proof necessary being a matter of federal law.”
The defendant in Swain was charged and convicted of the capital offense of rape. The jury venire in a capital criminal case usually contained about 100 jurors. After excuses and removals for cause the venire is reduced to about 75. It should be noted that in Swain there were six to eight Negroes on the venire, which would be around 10%. In the instant case the stipulation (Item No. 13) states there were approximately 10% on a venire of 150 jurors. Judge O’Hara’s testimony indicates a slightly larger percent. The Court concluded in Swain as follows:
“Moreover, we do not consider an average of six to eight Negroes on these panels as constituting forbidden token inclusion within the meaning of the cases in this Court. Thomas v. State of Texas, 212 U.S. 278, 29 S.Ct. 393, 53 L.Ed. 412; Akins v. State of Texas, 325 U.S. 398, 65 S.Ct. 1276, 89 L.Ed. 1692; Avery v. State of Georgia, 345 U.S. 559, 73 S.Ct. 891, 97 L.Ed. 1244. Nor do we consider the evidence in this case to make out a prima facie case of invidious discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment.”
The Swain case dealt with the issue of a purposeful and a substantially effective effort to deprive members of the Negro race any realistic opportunity to serve as jurors. See also Akins v. State of Texas, 325 U.S. 358, 405-406, 65 S.Ct. 1276; Thomas v. State of Texas, 212 U.S. 278-288, 29 S.Ct. 393, Fay v. People of State of New York, 332 U.S. 261 at 284, 67 S.Ct. 1613, 91 L.Ed. 2043; Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 471, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.Ed. 469. In Brown v. Allen, Negroes comprised only 7 % of the names on the jury list in a county where they comprised 38% of the eligible taxpayers. The Court held the discrimination was caused by an economic factor rather than a racial one and hence it found no constitutional violation. In this case the colored population was approximately 31-32% and as stated, the evidence clearly shows that Negroes composed approximately 10% of the petit jury panels.
It has long been the rule that a person asserting an intention to exclude and thus attacking the jury selection procedure has the burden of proving such intent. Smith v. State of Mississippi, 162 U.S. 592, 600, 16 S.Ct. 900; Tarrance v. State of Florida, 188 U.S. 519, 23 S.Ct. 402; Martin v. State of Texas, 200 U.S. 316, 26 S.Ct. 338; Fay v. People of State of New York, supra, 332 U.S. at 285, 67 S.Ct. 1613.
The majority goes to great length in discussing economic factors involved. Heavy reliance is placed on the civil case of Thiel v. Southern Pacific Co., 328 U.S. 217, 66 S.Ct. 984. More appropriate authority is Brown v. Allen, supra, where an economic factor was involved in a criminal case in which racial discrimination was claimed. If the ratio of 7% Negroes on the jury list as compared with 38% of the eligible taxpayers from which the jury list was composed did not constitute constitutional wrongdoing where an economic factor was involved, it is difficult for me to conclude that there has been constitutional infringement in the instant case where the more favorable *738figures of 10% on the petit jury panels must be compared with 31-32% of the population. Moreover, the Thiel case did not deal with the question of constitutional infringement, and the racial question was not involved; the Court was exercising its supervisory power rather than passing on a fundamental constitutional issue.
IY. Conclusion
Pretermitting any further discussion of the question when the attack on the jury system was made, the matter of waiver, and all the other elements in the case, it is clear to me that the petitioners have not proven deliberate and intentional exclusion of Negroes in the selection of petit jury panels. Their evidence was vague, indefinite and uncertain. It was chiefly theoretical, statistical proof. The District Court was amply supported by the evidence in concluding that the race or color of 44% of the total number of names appearing on the venires was not determined. It is obvious why the actual attack on the petit jury panels came only after all other efforts failed, and finally that attack also failed. The facts show that for years there had been substantial numbers of Negroes on the petit jury venire, and there was no substantial evidence of intentional and purposeful exclusion. At best, the initial attack did not rise above a loose allegation which was not supported by any evidence. The judgment of the District Court should be affirmed.
Justice tempered with mercy plus a fair trial, even for those charged with the most revolting crimes, are principles deeply embedded in the American system. Courts and law enforcement agencies should never deviate from those concepts.
It seems appropriate to observe, nevertheless, that this nation has spent much time and exercised great efforts throughout its history to persuade victims of heinous crimes to let the courts determine guilt and fix punishment. Great success has been achieved. Mob violence, “lynch law”, and the pistol and gun of the avenger have ended in large measure. There is a growing alarm, however, over the rapid increase of crime and the reluctance of citizens, victims and witnesses alike, to turn to the courts for help. See Miranda v. State of Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), (dissenting opinion) where Mr. Justice White stated:
“The most basic function of any government is to provide for the security of the individual and of his property. Lanzetta v. State of New Jersey, 306 U.S. 451, 455, 59 S.Ct. 618, 619, 83 L. Ed. 888. These ends of society are served by the criminal laws which for the most part are aimed at the prevention of crime. Without the reasonably effective performance of the task of preventing private violence and retaliation, it is idle to talk about human dignity and civilized values.”
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“Secondly, the swift and sure apprehension of those who refuse to respect the personal security and dignity of their neighbor unquestionably has its impact on others who might be similarly tempted.” *739tion is spread upon the records of the court. The lawyer then becomes embroiled in the defense of his own actions in doing his best to represent the accused defendant, even under court appointment. Sometimes his reputation for honesty is placed in jeopardy. In some cases his professional reputation is scarred and blotted.
*738How long will citizens exercise appropriate restraint while the courts continue to indulge in delay and return to society the ruthless rapist, the stealthy nighttime burglar, the cold blooded murderer, the sex fiend or members of organized narcotics gangs? The case of the criminal often becomes a cause celebre resulting in unreasonable public expense, and in some respects, he becomes the hero and player of the leading role in a fantastic display of court procedures that continue for years upon years. The victims are forgotten. Some are dead! A proper balance between the protection of society and the rights of the individual charge with crime must be achieved.
It is now commonplace to hear unrestrained criticism of police and law enforcement officials. Lawyers who are appointed to represent defendants are charged with professional neglect and misconduct. If the defendant is convicted, the lawyer is accused of furnishing ineffective representation. The accusa-
*739In my view, remembering always the rights of the accused, the times demand a close examination of the entire system by which criminals are tried, and from it there should be cut away some of the evident soft sentimentality which at times seems to be prevalent, and in its place a fair degree of firmness and austerity should be substituted in dealing with defiant, dangerous and diabolical criminals.

. Shakespeare, King Henry, VI, Part I, Act II, Scene IV.

. No improper reflection is intended with respect to counsel who must present the issues which their clients assert and insist upon.

. In footnote 5 of its opinion in Michel v. State of Louisiana (Poret and Labat v. State of Louisiana) 350 U.S. 91, 76 S.Ct. 158, 163, 100 L.Ed. 83; reh. den. 350 U.S. 955, 76 S.Ct. 340, 100 L.Ed. 831, the Supreme Court made this observation with reference to the attack on the grand jury:
“Not only may the prompt determination of such preliminary matters avoid the necessity of a second trial, but a long delay in its determination, such as here, makes it extremely difficult in this class of case for the State to overcome the prima facie claim which may be established by a defendant. Material witnesses and grand jurors may die or leave the jurisdiction, and memories as to intent or specific practices relating to the selection of a particular grand jury may lose their sharpness. Furthermore, a successful attack on a grand jury that sat several years earlier may affect other convictions based on indictments returned by the same grand jury.”
In Labat v. Sigler, 162 F.Supp. 574 (E.D. La.1958) Judge J. Skelly Wright concluded :
“Petitioners, throughout this long litigation, have been represented by competent counsel of their own choosing. Their case has been considered by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the Supreme Court of the United States on two separate occasions. Their case has been before the lower courts of the state and nation innumerable times-.- This court-has, in effect, retried the petitioners for the offense of which they have been convicted. While it must be owned that the conviction of a Negro of rape of a white female in this state should be subjected to the severest scrutiny, on the basis of the récord made here, this Court cannot say that these petitioners were denied due process of law.”

. While there are substantial areas of agreement in this dissent and in the opinion of Judge Bell concurring in the result, there are two material differences: (1) in my view Judge Bell’s opinion, in dealing with the question of the exclusion of wage earners as a class, goes beyond the terms of the mandate of the Supreme Court which directed consideration of the race issue only. Michel v. State of Louisiana, supra; and (2) even if the economic issue of excluding wage earners is a proper subject for consideration, the record does not support a conclusion that there was a deliberate and intentional exclusion of such wage earners as a class. Certainly, the record does not support the conclusion that “all daily wage earners” were excluded. Rather, at best the record shows a liberal granting of excuses upon request for purely benevolent -reasons in a system which did not provide for pay for jury service in the state court.

. The majority opinion, in summarizing the holding of the District Court, emphasized that the District Court held “they are now deemed to have waived these objections.” (Emphasis added by majority). The Court’s opinion further concludes, in ' effect, that “the District Court’s reliance on the ubiquitous fiction of waiver” was misplaced. Further stressing consideration of the waiver question, the majority asserts:
“The district court, however, relying on Michel (Labat-Poret), held that the petitioners, having failed to make timely objections to the jury, ‘are now deemed to have waived those objections’. 234 F.Supp. at 175.
“The district court’s error on this point and the states’ frequent reliance on the doctrine of waiver in federal habeas cases demonstrate the need in this circuit for a close look at the Supreme Court’s discussion of that doctrine in Fay v. Noia, 1963, 372 U.S. 391, 83 S.Ct. 822, 9 L.Ed.2d 837.”

. The following is from the record:
“MR. SCHREIBER: On behalf of both relators, Clifton Alton Poret and Edgar Labat, we offer in evidence the stipulation, I guess we can identify it as Stipulation Number 1.
“THE COURT: Yes, all right,-that is good, just Stipulation Number 1, because it is a joint offering.
“MR. SCHREIBER: Which is agreed to by the attorneys for all of the parties that are involved in this case, including the State of Louisiana.
“THE COURT: All right.
“MR. SCHREIBER: Also, Your Honor, I would like the record to show that any evidence that is taken in the trial of this cause also goes to the benefit of Clifton Alton Poret as well as Edgar Labat.
“THE COURT: I understand all of this evidence is to be offered by counsel, regardless of which of petitioners’ counsel offers it, that it is to be offered in connection with both petitioners’ claims, Clifton Alton Poret and Edgar Labat.
“MR. SCHREIBER. Yes, sir.”

. Judge J. Skelly Wright in his opinion, Labat v. Sigler, 162 F.Supp. 574 (1958), stated:
“The Supreme Court of the United States also affirmed the conviction after granting a writ of certiorari limited to an attack on the grand jury venire. Michel v. State of Louisiana, 350 U.S. 91, 76 S.Ct. 158, 100 L.Ed. 83.”

. The following is from the opinion in Michel v. State of Louisiana (Labat and Poret), supra:
“Poret’s case affords a perfect illustration of the necessity for prompt determination of claims such as he raises here. Five years have now elapsed since the crime was committed, and the delay has been largely caused by Poret’s own actions. Even if available, and memory permitted, the victim and chief witness would he reluctant to retell the sordid story of her unfortunate experience. Poret’s conviction by a petit jury whose composition he did not attach has been affirmed by Louisiana’s highest court and no constitutional challenge is made here to the fairness of that trial.” (Emphasis added.)