Topic THE JURY SYSTEM: Wilson, H. H., in Popular Science Monthly, 24 (1883), 676-686; Townsend, W. K., in Forum, 22 (1896), 107-116; Thomas, E. A., in Forum, 3 (1887), 102-110; Stephens, C. H., in Popular Science Monthly, 26 (1884), 289–298. Studies 1. Appointment, tenure of office, and compensation of judges. Baldwin, The American Judiciary, pp. 311-343. 2. Right of the courts to interpret and set aside laws. Baldwin, The American Judiciary, pp. 81-97. 3. The bench and the bar in America. Bryce, American Commonwealth, II, Chapters 67, 68. 4. The grand jury. Train, The Prisoner at the Bar, pp. 81-101. 5. The law's delays. Train, The Prisoner at the Bar, pp. 102-128. 6. Delays and defects of the enforcement of law in this country. Taft, W. H., in North American Review, 187 (1908), pp. 851-861. 7. The witness. Train, The Prisoner at the Bar, pp. 224-240. Questions 1. How many grades of courts are there in this State? Give the name of each. How are they 2. How many judges constitute the highest court? selected? What is their term of office? Where are the sessions of the highest court held? 3. Answer the same questions for the lower courts. 4. How are jurymen selected in this locality? Do they serve without pay? Who are exempt from jury duty ? CHAPTER IX THE PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC THE ENFORCEMENT OF LAW sentiment. 112. The Preservation of Order. The administration of Importance justice is connected closely with that most fundamental of of public governmental functions - the preservation of order. Yet this is a task which rests upon the general public rather than upon the peace officers who enforce the laws. It is quite essential that our laws should define clearly and cover fully the offenses that individuals may commit against society; it is necessary that suitable, yet severe, penalties be designated for each crime; it is indispensable that of. fenders should be arrested and convicted for their crimes; yet all of these are inadequate without that public sentiment which not only discourages but condemns law breaking, which supports our criminal laws and their enforcement without question or hesitation. This can be seen by comparing the attitude of any community toward different laws. A law that the people dislike is disregarded with impunity, although the community may be noted in general as law-abiding. It is usually a matter of local pride that laws should be enforced and order kept within a locality, since the States do not maintain a state police, but leave the protection of life and property to the local officers. The problem is much more difficult in cities than in rural districts, for it is a fact of common observation that there is a great deal more crime in cities than in the country. This is not so much the fault as the misfortune of great centers of popu Means of and success in suppressing disorder. Conditions in cities. Fairlie, Mun. Administration, 134-138. Numerous police duties. Fairlie, Mun. Administration, 144-149. Peace officers. lation, for they become the haunts of hardened characters chiefly because it is easy to escape detection in a multitude. 113. Peace Officers and their Duties. The larger the city, the greater the proportion of policemen to the population needed for the preservation of order. For example, in 1903, Scranton, with more than 100,000 inhabitants, had a police force of only 70, while Philadelphia employed 2510 policemen for her population but thirteen times as great. This is due to the greater congestion of population in large cities, and to the larger proportion of business transacted. It is caused also by the greater absorption of men in trade and their inability to assist in law enforcement by giving it their constant support—all of these conditions making it easier for persons to steal, evade ordinances, or do malicious mischief. The duties which police officers are expected to perform are surprisingly numerous. A police force must preserve order, be keen to detect crime, and eager to bring offenders to justice. Among the ordinances that policemen are expected to enforce are those relating to nuisances which must be abated as soon as possible, street obstructions which must be removed, and excise laws. When a city wishes to have its saloons closed promptly at midnight and all day Sunday, it finds this impossible without an incorruptible police force, fully supported by public sentiment. Many keepers of gambling dens and other illegal resorts frequently pay well for police protection to avoid interference. Merchants are sometimes guilty of giving sums for the privilege of evading the laws, as cheaper and more convenient than obedience. A large amount of the corruption in cities has been in these forms, which are not avoided easily. City police forces are usually organized on a semi-military basis under a chief of police, with captains and lieutenants in the different police precincts into which the larger cities are divided. A police board usually makes rules for the department, and has at least nominal power of appointment, often requiring physical and other tests of the patrolmen. Each county has a sheriff who is aided by several deputies. There are usually in addition township constables, who serve warrants and arrest offenders. In rural communities these duties are not often arduous, unless public sentiment is on the side of the law breakers. 114. Unusual Means of Protection. These law and order forces may be supplemented in times of great danger by posses of citizens summoned by the sheriffs to help them put down rioting or insurrection. If even this means does not prove effective, the local officials may ask the governor to send militiamen to the scene of disturbance. The militia constitutes practically the army of the State and consists of the active forces who are trained and ready for service at any moment, and the reserves or men between 18 and 45 who may be called on in special emergencies to uphold the law.1 These troops are used to protect property and to disperse any mobs that may be threatening violence. Ordinarily they are able to suppress disorder without loss of life, but severe conflicts are often waged between rioters and militiamen. Posses and militia. ing. An even greater danger to society than riots is the appar- Lawlessness ent indifference to lawlessness found in many sections of this and lynchcountry. The large number of murders each year, coupled with the few convictions for serious crimes, and the rapid Wright, increase in the number of suicides seem to be evidence that our people are less law-abiding than was formerly the case. On the other hand, the interest aroused in these matters, the desire to secure punishment for law breakers, the decrease in the number of lynchings, showing a greater willingness to leave the administration of justice to the courts, proof that even if conditions are worse than they were, our people are not really becoming indifferent. 1 Most of the seacoast States have a naval militia as well. are Prac. Sociol ogy, $$ 187190, 198. McClure, S. S., in McClure's Mag., 24 (1904), 163-171. New Encyc. of Social Reform, art. "Crime." Barbarous practices replaced by reformatory methods. McMaster, I, 98-102; THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS 115. Punishment of Crime in the Past. As the purpose of punishment for offenders has changed in recent years, the methods now in use are distinctively modern. In colonial times imprisonment was almost unknown, death being the penalty for the most serious offenses, and some species of public torture, like the stocks or the whipping post, being used for minor crimes. During the early national period there were prisons for the incarceration of criminals; but these were always of the worst description, the prisoners being herded together irrespective of age, offense, and other conditions, while often the prisons were nothing but cellars or mines. The gradual introduction of state prisons and more enlightened public interest did away with the worst of these evils. As the world began Wines, Pun- to realize that severe and arbitrary methods increased rather than ishment and diminished crime, greater attention was paid to reforming the crimiReformanal, while schools for the care of neglected children and youthful offenders sprang up on every side. Repeated efforts have been made to raise the standard of the local prisons, or jails; but, in spite of the progress made by a few States in some directions, the conditions in local institutions are still serious. tion, 147-154. Methods used in state 116. Treatment of Adult Criminals. ·State prisons are reserved for the worst classes of criminals sentenced by the courts, the persons convicted of minor offenses being confined in local jails or penitentiaries. The methods used in the prisons vary greatly, but the discipline is of necessity fairly rigid. Ordinarily employment is provided, chiefly for the purpose of keeping the prisoners busy, but partially to help pay the expenses of the prisons. A premium is placed upon good behavior, by reducing the length of the sentences from ten to thirty per cent for satisfactory conDependents, duct. Quite frequently indeterminate sentences are used, Defectives, the judge fixing a maximum and a minimum limit for the sentence, and the prison authorities deciding when it is wisest to release the prisoner. 264-286. Henderson, Delin quents, 276-307. The local jails. When a person is sentenced for a short time, he is usually sent to the county penitentiary, of which there are a great number. If awaiting trial, or held as witness without bail, |