PAID JURIES.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 36, 5 December 1927, Page 3

PAID JURIES.

THOUSAND A YEAR SALARY. LAWYER’S SCHEME. A novel scheme for reforming the jury system was suggested by Mr J. W.. Pickles, a Halifax solicitor, at the annual provincial meeting of the Law Society at Sheffield, states the “Daily Mail,” London. It included the appointment of professional jurymen with £IOOO a year salary, specially educated in the law of evidence, who would travel from town to town. Tile present system, said Mr Pickles, had many defects, including: Absence of individual responsibility, absence of reasons for the jury’s verdicts, liability of juries to be affected by popular prejudice, intimidation, or alleged bias, as, for example, where a pretty woman litigant weeps in Court and is appropriately dressed for the occasion. It was inconceivable that twelve untrained jurymen could in most cases be unanimous if each carefully considered the evidence and adhered to his own opinion. He continued: “I have a decided objection to untrained women serving on juries as at present constituted, and more particularly in murder trials. Women generally are more emotional than men, and for them to have to deal with sordid details is eminently unsuitable. So strongly do some women feel on their liability to serve on juries that they have had houses belonging to them transferred to male relatives to escape liability to serve.” As a remedy to the present jury system, Mr Pickles suggested a jury of five persons, each with fifteen years’ experience in some trade or business on his own account or as a director of some limited liability company. Intending jurors should be required to attend some school of law and pass a qualifying- examination in the law of evidence. They should then he allowed to become professional jurors, provided they first retired from business. Such jurymen would be more competent than the best special jury of to.rday, and the distinction between special juries and common juries would automatically disappear. Mr E. Bell, a London solicitor, protested against the idea. “The professional juryman,” he said, “would be steeped in officialdom and have one fixed idea. Moreover, the idiosyncrasies of each would become known to advocates.” WOMEN AS LAWYERS. The meeting- was not attended by any women members, but Mr Cecil Allen Coward, the president of the Law Society said, amid roars of laughter: “We shall welcome those members of the fair sex who join our profession, whether as solicitors or at the Bar, with what is frequently described as open arms.” He added that, of those women who had already taken up law, none had so far attained any remarkable success. Portia probably succeeded by her assurance and pei-sistency in laying down what she said Was the law and by her charm of manner. Mr Coward referred to the enormous increase of fees at the Bar. When, Lord Hersehell was at the Bar, he said, he was content with a fee of ten guineas to advise upon a case. Now a fee of 30 to 50 guineas was required by some counsel for an opinion.