An Obstinate Juror.

Evening Star, Issue 8267, 12 July 1890, Page 4

An Obstinate Juror.

Ka!,iicr an incident occurred (nayn the Sydney ' Daily Telegraph ') at the <h, -.rt-r The Jury had retired to consider their verdict in the caao of Louisa r.aker, who w:u charged with uttering counterfeit coin. They were absent; a conrldrrah'o time—why, no one could under:.v.nd, for the case w,'.3 a simple and plain on", ilia Honor finally sent for the jury, ami iv.'keri what difliculty lay in tho way of coming to n. decision : tho ease was an ea-jy one. Hi.; fireman answered that only one held out against returning ft verdict of

guilty. Ilia Honor: What reason clom lie give ? Docs he i;ive any ? The foreman srai.l the juryman did not give any reason for his opinion. Ilii Honor remarked that in so acting iV; juryman was noting improperly and wrongly. The jury again retired, and in about J throe-quarters of an hour came into Court with a verdict of "Guilty." After sentence- had be"n passed, His Honor inquired who was the juryman who had held (•ut. Tha Crown I'iosecutor expressed a hope His Honor would not press the question. Hia Honor snid he knew his duty. For .some moments th ■ jury remained stationary, ami tlitn t'co of the number stood out and iiai'i ho was the one who at first refused to .'•i.l a \erdict of guilty. ! i if) Honor : You are quite right in having an '.pinion of your o.vn, but it appears to mo that your mind is so peculiarly constituted that you are unfit to be a juryman, and I therefore excuse you from further attendance.

The Juryman : The reason I give for my tic', ion is that I believe the woman may have passed the coin believing it to bo a genuine one. The Crown I'roacci'tor hoped the action contemplated would not bo taken. liis Honor did not wish to insult the jii'-yinan in any way, but he thought that a .)(i.;on r.'h.j in a plain ease of this kind held out ayaiiii;!; a verdict might cause a great deal of trouble to his brother jurymen in anything like a difficult case. The juryman in question seemed a difficult man to persuade.

Tho Crown Prosecutor asked to be heard. It was only through the mistake of tho foreman i'.n saving ho,V the numbers stood that ilia Honor knew that but one juryman was holding out. It would bo a slight on the juryman to take the course His Honor pro{iif"d. With the greatest respect he asked ii:; Honor not to withdraw the juryman's name from the panel. V\i Honor aaked the learned gentleman if he knew any law. He (Hia Honor) would quote a case in point to show that he was iakhit' a pro-jor cind If-gal course. The case Ua -.voui! refer to was not exactly like tills, put would boar upon it A charge of cattlc:V..- ilim; was being heard at Alaitland before the iato Judge Milior'l. On the jury there was a pn>>Lighter, unci he threatened to punch tho heads of all the others if they did not cdiik round to his view oi tho case. Tho matter waa inquired into, the jury wore i'Kc!iar.L'cd, and the man Ktruck off the roll, an 1, h'-: believed, punished. He did not s,y the juryman in the present case was of '.-hat character ; but there were some people w iio --.ore reluctant to believe evidence in the plainest case, and the peculiar constitution of their minds led to other jurymen halag put to a grf-afc deal of inconvenience. A jury could not be discharged till they had been "in deliberation twelve hours, and one juryman might cause expense and trouble. A jury might retire at eleven o'clock in t,hc> morning, and one man might keep all ihij ofchara in till eleven o'clock at night, causing enormous inconvenience, through h'n stubbornness. He was simply taking a. legal and proper course, and would excuse O.'.ie juryman from further attendance.