Courts -- United States; Trial practice -- United States
There is a constant play of opposing influences upon the judge. As an
upholder of the law he becomes a formalist and a reactionary. The
insistent demands of humanity which the statute law can never satisfy,
tend to make him a revolutionist. The saving element for him is that
he is only a part of a system for which he is not responsible.
When the judge has had the list of cases for the day called and has
disposed of the applications for adjournments, he turns to the clerk
who begins to call the roll of the men who are to act an important
part on the stage--the jury.
The solution of the matter so far as the judge is concerned is to give
him greater power. Let him be absolutely responsible for the conduct
of a case in court. His position should not be that of an umpire who
remains quiet until a dispute arises, but rather that of a head
enquirer into merits, assisted by the two lawyers and the jury.
IV
THE ANXIOUS JURY
The main characteristic of the jury is that it does not want to be in
court. The name comes from the French word _Jure_, sworn, or the man
who has taken an oath. There is probably no reason to suppose that the
word is derived from the state of mind in which a juryman finds
himself, nor does it mean the words he has expressed with reference to
his duty: more properly it is the men who are sworn to do justice. The
implication of the word serve is that there is some punishment or
penalty attached to jury duty. It is not regarded as penal servitude
by the average man, but it seems near to it. While he is serving, his
business goes to pieces, his wife misunderstands why he does not come
home to dinner and his whole life is disarranged. When a man has
served on a jury he gets a discharge paper.
Jury duty is one of the obligations of citizenship and its highest
duty; at the same time it is one of its privileges. Foreigners and
idiots cannot serve. Doctors, soldiers, journalists, clergymen, and
others, besides those who are deaf, blind, or otherwise disabled, are
exempted. The experience of serving on a jury may be annoying but it
is broadening and gives an opportunity of seeing human nature in a way
that few appreciate. To serve on a jury is to become a part of the
judicial system of the State and for the time being to belong to the
governing class.
"All day long," says the court officer, "they do nothing but grumble
and grumble at being kept away from their business but when they get
chosen on a case, they realize it does not do any good so they settle
down to do what is right." The country man may not have much to do and
may look on jury duty rather as a diversion or vacation from farm
work but the average town man feels the $2 a day he receives is only
lunch money compared to the amount he is losing in his business, and
so he hates it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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