The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1922. GRAND JURIES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18431, 15 March 1922, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1922. GRAND JURIES.

When the Supreme Court sat here last month we took occasion to refer to the revival in England of the call for the abolition of Grand Juries. There, as we pointed out, the question was brought into prominence by reason of the restoration of the grand jury system, which had been suspended during the war. Apparently the smooth running of the wheels of justice had not been adversely affected by the suspension, and consequently it was urged in some quarters that the system could very well be abolished altogether. Resolutions to this effect have been passed by more than one grand jury and by various Recorders and Quarter Sessions Chairmen, and even Judges have expressed themselves strongly. ‘‘Many people think, and I am among them,” said Mr. Justice Darling, "that assize cases are now so thoroughly investigated before the magistrates that it is hardly necessary to preserve this ancient, though very interesting institution.” The Recorder of Manchester stated at the January Sessions that during eight years he had tried about a thousand persons, and in only one case had the work of the grand jury made even a technical difference. Other judges, however, support the grand jury system, which, according to one, rests on the basic principle that a subject is not tp be brought to trial by the act of the executive or any one of its officers, but only through the presentment of a jury drawn from the community. In other words, a man is entitled not only to be tried by a jury of his peers, but to have his case considered before trial by a similar body of men. Of 121 replies received from Recorders and Chairmen who had been asked their opinion on the question, 70 were for retention, nine for limited retention, and 42 for abolition. A few days ago an experienced lawyer in Christchurch delivered an address on grand and common juries, in which he strongly urged the abolition of grand juries on the ground of useless expense and waste of time. The Auckland “Star” endorses this view, and suggests that in its search for avenues of economy the Government might consider the abolition of grand juries. “The fact remains,” it says, “that the grand jury system is, in this country at any rate, a survival from a time when conditions were different; and the wisdom of its retention is very questionable. It can be defended only as a safeguard against blunders and errors of judgment in the committing Court, which were much more numerous in the old days than they are now. With the decline in the Court work done by justices of the peace, and the employment of trained magistrates in most cases .there seems to us to be little or no necessity for a revision of cases at the Supreme Court before they go to the common jury. It would be interesting to have the opinion of the New Zealand Bench of Judges.