Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

What number of districts each county must contain.

Ibid.

be delivered to clerks
of courts.

Venires facias to con-
stables; and how
clerks shall issue
them

render useful and necessary, divide their respective. counties into at least four jury districts, and more, if it shall be found in practice convenient, not exceeding twelve, each to contain so many adjoining towns as shall make the number of inhabitants in each division as nearly equal, according to the last census for the time being, as may be, without dividing a town; and such jury districts shall be numbered and distinguished numerically.

And the said courts of sessions shall cause copies of such divisions to be delivered to the clerks of the respecCopies of divisions to tive courts, at which the course of trials is or may be by juries, who shall issue their venires facias, in due form, directed to the respective constables of as many towns in one such jury district, and for as many jurors as shall be as near as may be in proportion to the number of jurors sent for in the other districts, to serve at the same court, always collecting the grand, traverse, and petit jurors, so far as shall be practicable and convenient as uniformly from all parts of the county, as the situation of towns, the number of their inhabitants, and a practical rotation and equalization of the service of jurors will permit; never taking more than two grand, and two traverse or petit jurors from the same town, to serve at the same court, unless from necessity, some extraordinary occasion, or to equalize their services on the principles aforesaid.

Ibid. s. 3.

Ibid.

Time of issuing venires.

III. Of the time for which grand jurors shall serve ; and when venires for such jurors shall issue.

By statute it is enacted, that the grand jurors, who shall be returned to serve at the court of common pleas, shall serve at every term of said court, which shall be held throughout the year, and until another jury shall be empannelled in their stead, except the county of Bristol, where they shall be required to serve twice in each year, at such times as the court of common pleas for that county may direct.

Venires for such a jury shall be issued forty days, at least, before the first day of March annually.

IV. Duty of sheriffs in regard to venires.

The sheriff of each county, so soon as he shall receive bid. the venires for jurors, from the clerk of either court, shall, without any delay, forward the same to the constables of the towns to whom they shall be directed.

V. Mode of drawing jurors; and herein of the manner of notifying such jurors of their selection; and the return of the venire.

Ibid. s. 5.

How jurors shall be

By the same statute, when any town shall be duly assembled, in pursuance of a venire facias, for the purpose aforesaid, the town clerk, or in his absence, one of the drawn. selectmen, shall carry into the meeting the box containing the names of those persons who have been selected to serve as jury-men, at the court from which the venire issued; which box shall be unlocked, in the meeting, and the tickets mixed by the major part of the selectmen, who are to be present; and one of the selectmen shall draw out as many tickets as there shall be jurors required by venire.

The persons whose names shall be thus drawn, shall be returned to serve as jurors, unless from sickness, absence beyond sea, without the limits or in different parts of the commonwealth, they shall be considered by the town as unable to attend the court for which they had been drafted; or had served on a jury within three years from that day. In either of these cases, or in case of a coroner's being drawn, at a time when the duties of a sheriff shall be devolved on him, by reason of a vacancy in that office, the persons' names being returned into the box, others shall be drawn in their stead.

1bid.

In what cases names

drawn may be return

ed into the box, and

others drawn in their

stead.

Ibid.

Operation of such re

But any person being thus excused, or who shall be returned, and shall not appear at court, or appearing, shall be there excused, shall not be considered as serving, turn of the name into or be excused on another draft, should it happen within the term of three years, the minute on his ticket notwithstanding.

the box, etc.

Ibid. s. 6.

Indorsement of the date of the draft on the ticket.

1bid.

Persons drawn, to be notified.

Ibid.

Return of the venire.

Ibid.

Transferring of in

to new tickets.

The same statute has further enacted, that the selectmen who shall draw from the box the ticket of any person to serve as a juror, and who shall not be excused by the town, for either of the causes aforesaid, shall indorse thereon the date of the draft, and then return the same into the box.

And it shall be the duty of the constable to notify the persons thus designated to serve as jurors, four days at least, before the sitting of the court, on which they are to attend, either by reading to them the venire, with the minutes of their having been drafted as aforesaid, thereon; or by leaving at their usual abode, a written notification of their having been so drawn, and also, of the time and place of the sitting of the court, and when they are to attend.

And he shall make a seasonable return of the venire to the court to which it is returnable, with his doings thereon.

And whenever there shall be a renewal, or an exchange of any of the tickets in either of the boxes, for dorsements from old others, of the same persons, the selectmen shall transfer from the back of the old tickets, to the new ones, the minutes of such drafts as had been made within the three preceding years.

Ibid. s. 7.

Venires to be issued.

VI. Proceedings in case of a deficiency of jurors.

By the same statute, when by a deficiency of either of the grand, traverse, or petit jurors of any court, it cannot conveniently proceed in its business, it may cause writs of venire facias, for the drawing and returning so many jurors as shall be deemed necessary, to be forthwith issued, and directed to the constables of such towns in the county as the court, under the existing circumstances, shall judge most proper; conforming, as far as the business of the court will permit, to the principles, by which, under this act, jurors are to be selected, and their services equalized.

And the jurors so drawn, shall be notified by the constables to attend on the court immediately.

Ibid.

Persons drawn, to be notified.

ibid.

Return of jurors de

And when from challenges, or otherwise, there shall not be a jury to determine any civil or criminal cause, which may be called on for trial, the sheriff or his deputy, or, in case of an interest of relationship in him, to a party in the suit, a coroner, or such other disinterested person as the court shall appoint, shall, by order of the court, return jurymen de talibus circumstantibus, sufficient to complete the pannel: Provided, no person shall talibus circumstanbe considered as competent to be returned, whose name shall not, to the satisfaction of the court, appear to be contained in one of the three lists aforesaid, unless the parties consent; and also provided, that there shall be seven at least, on the pannel, of the jurors returned by the venire.

VII. Of juries to view.

By the same statute, in all cases relating to real estates, either party may have a jury to view the place in question, if the court shall be of opinion that such view is necessary to a just decision: Provided, the party moving therefor, shall advance such a reasonable sum to the jury, as the court shall order, to be taxed against the adverse party in the event of a decision of the cause against him, on its merits, or through the default of the adverse party.

VIII. Mode of impannelling the grand jury; and herein of the election of the foreman, and his power to swear witnesses.

By the same statute, from the return on the venires, the clerk of each court shall prepare, or have prepared, at the opening of every court, separate alphabetical lists of the names of the persons, who shall be returned as grand, traverse, or as petit jurors, respectively.

And each court in impannelling the grand jury, shall cause the two persons who shall stand first on the grand

[blocks in formation]

tibus.

Ibid.

I'id. s. 10.

Clerks to prepare alphabetical lists.

Ibid.

The succession in

sworn.

jury lists, to be called and sworn, and after them the

which jurors shall be others, in succession, as they shall be named in the list, and in such divisions as has been usual, or by the court may be deemed proper.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

And it shall be the duty of the grand jury, who shall be thus sworn, impannelled and instructed by the charge from the court, so soon as they shall retire for the purpose of discharging the duties of their office, first to elect by ballot their foreman, and to notify the court, by the officer who shall be appointed to attend on them, of the person who shall have been thus elected, and who shall be thereupon foreman of the jury, for the then existing term, and as such, be recorded by the clerk accordingly.

But in case of the absence of such foreman by sickness, or any other cause, it shall become necessary, during the same session of the jury, to appoint another foreman, they shall proceed in a similar manner to elect, and to announce to the court the choice of another foreman in his stead.

And the foreman of each grand jury, in the presence of the attorney-general, solicitor-general, or county-attorney, shall have power to swear any witness to testify before such grand jury, and it shall be his duty to return to the court which impannelled them, a list of all witnesses so sworn, before said grand jury be discharged from their attendance upon the said court; which list shall be filed and entered on the record, by the clerk thereof.

IX. Mode of impannelling the traverse and petit juries; and herein of the election of the foreman.

By the same statute, the respective courts, in impannelling the traverse and petit jurors, shall cause the names of the two first persons which shall stand on the list of jurors for trials respectively, to be called, who shall be first sworn, and then the others in succession, as

1

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »