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    J iitt ^^ tty t ^ 4 ht 6 ^ ause are selected by fij » SHiWb ^ to he drawn b ^^ rti ^ ffidefr cff * tH # courts fro m tMWx inftSHVhteh th £ / atffe ptif 4 Hfrj # iMfly | Pfftfe sanction of a solemn ofegWu * . ^ ' ¦ '" ^ Tms 4 s doing all that human cdntriV £ n

    trifVW ^ W trlbuttal exammati&fa * of fart , is , Stf / y , Publicity , or the pofofic Snd open manner in which its btisflBess W eond acted .

    "Every thing is transacted with open dbott—e ^ very thing , from the commencement of the trial to its close , except when the Jtify retire for deliberation , is done before ah inquisitire and observing public ,, who , hearing thefevicfence , form their judgments of the correctness of the Court and

    Juty ' iir ^ drawing their conclusionsgo that they are secured by the responsibility p | f character , thus openly exposed -to criticism , to form a correct aijd honest' 'dpinfon in every case . This ; is ^ tided by * the constant presence of'atrEnlightened Bar , whose learning ' anfi taFents and practice in judicm coneernsT are thus rriade

    subsertietittt 6 > tfa ^> enAs of substantial justice In this tvay ^ arid before such an aud 2 Jtte ^ , - * th % dase is * sifted to the very bAltbm ,-and * every part of the tribunal is always subject to the most rigid obtervatibW and so called to the most coWtect attention to do justice .

    This important feature of jury trial w ^ eiriarMble for its hap py influence on ' aW tJfo ^ e w ^ hb administei to justice tftfotfglv the' medium of that institioti . ¦ fJ ' * " ¦ ' • ¦

    Ftrtt . As to its influence on the witnesses . 'By public examination t & * y are open to the observation of the rVibiina ! who is to judge of their testimony , and of the value to be ascrirjfed to it—^ s it respects their de-B ^ € anout , their capacity and intelli-^ ceaLtrd th 6 manner of testifying .

    l ^ rery witness in an open court , risks his character with the public and Tnttflitef ' ttttfgftbftdrs , - and is kept cor-^ t ? 5 V tti kt lAftiience : The witnesses * re ftal ^ eiamiiied by cournsel in chief , then cross-examined by adverse coun-% H ^ i % subject ( to the exa-|^«( S bta ^ rtti ^ Jxiry a ^ d the Bfench . SL ^^^ i **^^*^ ^^ a sup reme WfiiPrWi « etice tfr jadicfa au ^

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    thority has its effect in producing correctness of deportment , and his evide * n £ e being submitted to the judgment of his fellow-subjects / the jury he'must have that circumfspect attention to truth which such a situation

    naturally creates . Besides , in case of prevarication , the authority of a courr , with sufficient power to commit , i « held over him , to have an instantaneous operation . Secondly . The effect of publicity is equally important in regard to th « jurv .

    Their exposure t 6 public view and observation , secures , in that respectable body , the casual tribunal , thai steady attention , which is not only essential to the appearance , but to * the reality of justice ; and it is not

    unimportant to remark , that this solemnity of conduct reflects again on the sm * - rounding audience , and secures in those who compose it , the same attention and decorum when they come to be jurymen .

    The justice which they do , as I have already observed , is the subject of consideration by as many as the court will admit , ' the report bf those present at a trial goes forth Jothe

    public at large , and the verdicts of jurymen are secured to be just , -b ^ the certainty that they must undergo the scrutiny of the whole extended and watchful community *

    The evidence of which tluey have to judge is , owing to . this publicity , and to the formation of the court , governed by rules which are calculated to exclude falsehood , and to secure ; the testimony of truth .

    The introduction of a well-regulated law of evidence is a most important result of trial by jury . In order to exclude all evidence from the hearing of the jury , which , from its nature may be false , and make an undue impression , the judges are called upon

    publicly to decide upon the admissir bility of witnesses , and of questions , upon all objects of competency , 09 contradistinguished from those of ere * dibility . This they do publicly Upon the argument of counsel ; and , her * again , the subject is secured in a { Itie and certain administration of justfcr in matter of fact .

    Tni * is a result only attainable ty this institution , where there is authority and learning to decide , aad 9 ^ au * e fo ** 1 ** ckiofl . It i * tbk which

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    JVew Jury Court of Scotland . 147

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1816, page 147, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2450/page/19/