Of course, some prosecutors are so
anxious to convict that they will wheedle or deceive a judge
into giving charges which are not only most inimical to the
prisoner, but so utterly unsound that a reversal is sure to
follow; but when one of these professional bloodhounds is
baying upon the trail all he thinks of is a conviction--that
is all he wants, all the public will remember; to him will be
the glory; and when the case is finally reversed he will
probably be out of office. These "requests" cover pages, and
touch upon every phase of law applicable or inapplicable to
the case. Frequently they number as many as fifty, sometimes
many more. It is "up to" the judge to decide "off the bat"
which are right and which are wrong. If he guesses that the
right one is wrong or the wrong one right the defendant gets a
new trial.
CHAPTER III
Sensationalism and Jury Trials
For the past twenty-five years we have heard the cry upon all
sides that the jury system is a failure, and to this general
indictment is frequently added the specification that the
trials in our higher courts of criminal justice are the scenes
of grotesque buffoonery and merriment, where cynical juries
recklessly disregard their oaths and where morbid crowds flock
to satisfy the cravings of their imaginations for details of
blood and sexuality.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78