WOMEN ON JURIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, 23 March 1921, Page 5

WOMEN ON JURIES

' Tile admission of women to-juvies in England has.raised the question of the form of address to bo used bv judges and counsel. At the Central Criminal Court tho Common Sergeant, Air H. F. Dickens, K.C., referred to Air Justice Howlatths objection ot addressing them as “Ladies and gentlemen 6T the jury.’’ He had spoken to some of the judges, and they agreed that there should he uniformity, in the mode ol address, ami thought it should now be ‘‘Members of tho jury.” Sir Hichard Muir, who is a Bencher of tho -Middle Temple, said it was formerly the custom at that. Inn for the senior Bencher, in proposin gtho toasts ol His Majesty’s health ,to use the form, ‘•Gentlemen of tho Middle Temple, the King.’’ Since tho admission of women students the form had been changed to “Membora of the Middle Temple, the King.” Air Justice E. A. Parry < has suggested “Comrades of the jury” as a possible alternative, but with-mgo-unity ho holds time 1 iho time honoured phrase “Gentlemen ol the jnvy should not ho superseded without lur tlier consideration. He argues that : die phrase might surely bo ■ retain© 1 on ! the well-known legal principle, as I stated by Sergeant Arakin : “When tlie statute says ‘man,’ this includes ‘woman,’ since it is universallly acknowledged (hat mao embraces woman. Let us hope that this is the true view, for then we may be assured that nothing will he done hastily, and the glorious and historical “Gentlemen of the jury’ will nit _ lie aholisned without due and patient, consideration.” The suggested altesmative, “Alomhers of the jury,” lie dismisses as “too anatomical.” “Comrades of tho jury,” perhaps, is better, the word being common to both sexes Or, asks the hul v’, why not “Gentlefolk,” or merely “.Jurors,” in the vocative? “Friends” is Quakerish, and “Brethren” ecclesiastical and dangerously somnolent.