JURY SERVICE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19162, 19 November 1927, Page 5

JURY SERVICE.

WOMEN TOO EMOTIONAL. PROFESSIONAL JURYMEN SUGGESTED. (M.OH OOi OWN COBKISPOXBSVr.) LONDON, October 8. At the Law Society's conference at Sheffield, Mr J. W. Pickles, of Halifax, read a paper on the jury system, in which he advocated the formation of professional juries. He also said that he had a decided objection to women serving on juries as at present constituted, and more particularly in murder trials. "My objection," he continued, "is that women generally are more emotional than men, and that for them to have to deal with the sordid details of criminal caseß is eminently unsuitable. The allegation has been made (probably by some malicious person) of a case where a man had murdered both his father and mother. The jury is alleged to have recommended him to mercy on the ground that he was an orphan." (Laughter.) Mr Pickles suggested that there should be juries of five men selected from persons who each had fifteen years' experience in some trade or business (not a profession). These men should bj required to attend an institution to study the law of evidence, and pass a qualifying examination in that branch of law. They should then, provided they had first retired from business, become professional jurymen at salaries provided by the State. It had been noted of late, Mr Pickles proceeded, that medical men had become very nervous about juries awarding damages in cases relating to alleged negligence in certifying lunatics. Some jurymen were, in reality, unduly sensitive about the personal liberty of themselves and others, and were willing to give, much too freely, damages to persons complaining of negligent incarceration as lunatics. He did not consider that juries, generally speaking, were suitable judges on questions of sanity, or of negligence of medical men in certifying patients to be insane. The result would probably be that lunatics would go uncertified, through medical men not liking to face possible actions for damages. He suggested that one medical man, one solicitor, two trained jurymen, and a barrtstei% or judge, as chairman, sitting a* aTJourt in camera, and required to beunanimens, after hearing the medical and other witnesses, would make an infinitely better tribunal for this special, arid hiehlv technical class of case, and would be a "full protection both to the public and the medical profession*

S. Andrews, J. Newman, J. Seaman, A. Gillett, A. Cague, T. Nye, A. Coleman, J. Wham.

Celtic seniors—M. Angland, A. Austin, W. Cuthbertson, P. Dickie, J. Fitzgerald, J. Gibson, C. Harding, J. K.!ne. S. Mason, A. Rodgers, W. Sullivan. 2nd grade—D. Mellor, R. Mason, D. Tobin, E. Laws, G. Kellv, T. Quinn, P. Kent, M. McAuliffe, M. Dalv, L. Fountaine, F. Roper. 3rd grade—J. Delurv, T. Mullalv, G. Cox, J. O'Brien, J. O'Leary, H. Quinn. N. Quinn, J. Lang, C. Daly,' P. Sullivan, B. Murdoch, J. McGrath. Pareora—Munro (2)> Sinclair, Pratt, Bennett, Macßeath, Mitchell, Pugh, Palmer, Vincent, Thompson. Star seniors—Graham, Heese, Lewis, Burns, Judge, Taylor, K. McKnight, E. McKnight, Logan, J. Holden, L. Holden. Emergency: E. Moore. ' Third grade—Armstrong, Boyes, Dick, Weston, J. Halkett, jun., J. D. Robinson, B. Stephenson, B. Holden, Gibbons, Underhill, W. Campbell, W. Doig. Morris.