The New York herald. [volume], June 19, 1921, SECTION SEVEN, Image 75

About The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924

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SECTION
SEVEN
A Dl7'WTi
YY \
Ruled by
4
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Allegations That Femin
vict and Reach Verd
Counter Charge That
an Guilty ?Propriety
When Trials Are Pro I
'WYTITH recent trials in the courti
yy the question of the advisabii
criminal Cases has come to i
startling points, notably those bearii
women are too merciless to render 1
what, in the minds of some observers
to reach verdicts by snap decisions,
emphasis from the reaching of a vera
deliberation by a jury headed by a t\
Greninger, against Samuel G. Malone
delphia, whose case grew out of elect
of a policeman. Quick verdicts also 1
women jurors.
What men and women of the ben
qualified to judge have to say on botl
appended article. Their views take c
/ women in New York and some of tht
legal right to serve on juries. In I
fight into the courts. It was only rec
vfas crowded with women volunteers
Isabelle C. Orthwein, charged with t
a jealous rage. They were disappoin
torney announced it was impossible t
a mixed jury.
In London Justice Darling rece;
tn withdraw frnm a rac/? rnvrtJvinor ar
morals, and the women promptly toe
question here brought up and the on
propriety of women's serving on mi
where jurors must remain together i
wealth of opinions presented in the i
By TORRF
THE woman juror debate was reopened
with something of an explosion last
week when a Cincinnati lawyer
unburdened himself of some rather decided
notions on the qualifications of the feminine
sex for reaching a reasonable verdict
in the ordinary criminal case. According
to his strictly Ohio ideas, women are too
merciless to sit in judgment on the misdeeds
and weaknesses of their fellow men.
It was during the course of a first degree
murder trial in Cincinnati that the unexpected
testimony was written down on the
court records. A preliminary panel of
thirty men and women, summoned as
pruupTCiive jurur?. nan neen exnauBieu ami
! the jury bo^ was only half filled. On each
occasion, when a woman was about to be
declared eligible for service, E. M. Ballard
of the counsel for defence, issued a peremptory
challenge.
He didn't do it mildly in any "Please,
your Honor. I object to the lady" manner.
No; he did It aggressively, leaving very
little to the imagination He did this
consecutively five times, with the same reproachful
gaze at the feminine aspirant.
Mr. Ballard Unhesitatingly Tells
The Court Just Where He Stands
Ultimately the court and the other par
ticlpants in the legal struggle awoke^i the
fact that Mr. BHllard was slightly prejudiced
against turning a jury into a mixed
party. Just to be sure, they asked him If
liC minded announcing where he stood on
the matter.
"No," said Mr. Ballard promptly, "1
don't mind. The records thus far in criminal
cases have shown that women jurors
always are for conviction. Women are
merciless?much more so than men."
And that was In Ohio.
In New York, where in spite of Alice
Duer Miller women still have a few
more notches to go before they can generally
be considered "people," there has been
less opportunity to study the female mind
In active jury work. The New York law
definitely states that Jury service shall be
restricted to "male citizens." A bill to do
away with this discrimination has been
THE
MAG
'
3MEN1
Heart, Si
line Jurors Always Vot<
licts by Snap Judgmei
: Men Never Find a Pret
v of Locking Un Mixe
o _ r
longed Strongly Questi
; of the United States and England
Uty of women serving on juries in
the fore again with new and rather
ig on an attorney's contention that
cair judgment and the indication of
, is proneness on the part of women
These phases of the subject draw
lict of guilty after thirteen minutes'
venty-two-year-old girl. Miss Hettie
y, a former political leader in Phil aion
riots which involved the murder
iave marked other cases tried before
ich and bar and others who are well
? sides of the question is told in the
m special interest at this time, since
? other States have yet to Attain the
llinois the women have taken their
ently in Chicago that the courtroom
tor jury duty in tne trial ot Mrs.
he murder of Herbert P. Ziegler in
ted when the Assistant District At\o
impanel a jury of women or ewen
ntly gave women jurors permission
i allegation of impairment of public
)k advantage of the privilege. The
e which involves the advisability or
xed juries in long drawn out cases
tntil the end enter also in the new
subjoined article.
Y FORD.
lingering 011 the outskirts of the Legisla
lure for many terms, but up to the fairly
torrid present it has never been heard be
yond the committee room.
Nevertheless there are those in the immediate
neighborhood who line up strongly
with the Cincinnati attorney and others
fully as vehement in their faith in the
woman juror.
Scorning any notion of ranging hetero
geneous opinions into a formal debate 01
of attaining a precise set of resolutions,
we merely present as they come to hand
the diverging comments of eminent mem
hers of the bar and bench Inevitably the
old arguments for and against the woman
in the jury box are brought up and
threshed out again. The new angle is interpreting
them in the light of the findings
in the Cincinnati courtroom.
Chief among the opponents of the-xoed
ucational Jury Is Judge Alfred J. Talley
of the Court of General Sessions. Prominent
in the ranks of the sponsors of the
innovation Is Miss Amy Wren, a Brooklyn
attorney, who has been pushing the bill for
the woman juror ever since its Inception.
Possibly Miss Wren's views on Judge
Talley are best left unsaid, but after all,
why not get the whole thing down In print?
"Go and see Judge Talley if you wish,"
said Miss Wren. "His opinions on the
subject are fBirly well known. Judge
Talley sees but one occupation for woman
In this world. If she can't catch a husband.
according to his theories, she might
as well tie a rock to her neck and jump
overboard."
Actually, Judge Talley's views reach no
surh extremes. Confirmed as he is In his
belief that woman's place is out of the Jury
box. he phraseg his objections in terms
that mention neither her mcrcllessness
nor her frivolousness. His arguments are
of quite another order.
"Back to the whole question," said .!ud*o
Talley, "of women Jurors, women voters,
women legislators, woman generally In
public life looms forth one great and ludls
putable fact, and that is that woman approaches
the problems of life with her
heart an^l not with her,head.
"The history of mankind gives testimony
to that truth. It has been so held by sages
slid by saints and is known and accepted
iy every youth who has wooed a maid.
Legislation that is just and beueficent may
wmrnm ,;;rj :isg
NEW YC
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NEW YORK. SUND
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ay Critics;
[Afelpllsgipi
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ty Wornoned
give to woman rights and privileges thai
have hitherto been denied her. but no written
statute can transform what nature has
wisely ordained. Woman will continue to
be a creature of infinite variety. Her delicate
reserve will always be the very breath
of moral life and the basis of her incomparable
charm.
"So long as she is woman her emotional
strain will dominate her rational processes
and she'll continue to be the inspiration of
romance, poetry and art as long as civilization
will endure."
fudge Compares Jury Service
With the Duty of Bearing Arms
If ic Inrlcrp Tnllov'a holiof thnt inrv aor.
vice is the duty of certain specified classes
of citizens, and not a right coincident with
and inseparable from citizenship. He compares
the duty of serving on a jury with
the duty of bearing arms in the defence of
the Government.
"Some women," he continued, "may still
storm against what they call the inequalities
of the laws and they may, with great
resolve, pronounce their unyielding abhorrence
and detestation of the word 'male'
when it is found between the covers of a
statute book, but in their hearts they know
that the law of nature is paramount to the
law of man. The one is human, finite, fallible;
the other is divine. And it is part of
the divine plan that wdman is destined and
qualified for the bearing of the children of
iiie race and for the creation and guardianship
of the homes of the world and of their
maintenance in love and honor.
"In the chances of life some women escape
from the primary duties of their sex,
but laws are not made nor customs formed
for or by the exceptional. Public policy
, requires that certain laws be made for the
protection of women for no other reason
than that they are women. _
"Tho laws prevailing throughout the
. land regulating the hours and methods of
the employment of women are instances
which readily occur to mind. Our exceptional
woman says to the law, 'You shall
not provide that I may not work as long or
as late as a man. By so doing you are interfering
with my rights as a citizen, with
my right of contract, with my right as an
, adult citizen and voter to sell mv services
when and how and where I please.'
"But the highest court in our land says
to the woman: 'The future of the race is
of more importance than your right of
contract: the maintenance of healthy
women and the need for healthy offspring
is paramount to your earning capacity and
amhltlon. You are a woman, and the law
will protect you even against yourself for
the general weal?the welfare of the Republic.'
"I am mindful that these things are trite
and familiar, hut all fundamentals are
necessarily so, ann inese consinerauons
are basic anri fundamental."
Miss Wren Cites Glaring Examples
Of Men's "Unemotional Verdicts"
' Comparing "emotional'' women with unemotional
men Juries is a favorite topic
with Miss Amy Wren. She likes to bring
up cases where men flash into the foreground
with all of their ferocious lack of
emotional qualities. She spoke of a Long
Island trial where a woman was charged
with first degree murder.
"All of the women reporters who came <
down to cover the case were against the i
defendant," Miss Wren explained. "But
when they went hack to the city they wrote i
the customary sob stories because their unemotional
editors gave those orders. After <
the verdict of acquittal had been rendered \
one of the Jurors patted the defendant on j
the back and said: 'You didn't think we i
were going to convict you. did you?' i
"Of course she knew. Just as every one
else knew, that those unemotional men '
)RR HE
Ei and B C
AY. JUNE 19. 1921.
1CILESS
Truly Ju
Woman Judge Denies
Women Are Merciless
I 1 IT it impossiI
1 hlptn typnpral
concerning
j^r women jurors.
V Some of them
tP* i8if y T ~ju#t Hke the
' 1 m e n ? favor
& f| :?b*% I convict ion.
1^4 Some of them
*^^1" men?-tend to?
On the average
HMftSI say
they are
sentimental. But
Florence R. Aiim. women certainly
are not merciless, for they
have sat on juries in this State
this year which have recommended
mercy. On the other
hand women have also sat upon
juries which voted the death
penalty here in Cleveland.
FLORENCE E. ALLEN,
Judge, Court of Common Pleas,
/ M i i nu:?
( V*l?v? |
with tears in their eyes never would convict
a woman of anything."
Another glaring example of an unemotional
verdict that Miss Wren remembered
was a hotel case. A young man came to
the hotel with a woman and registered as
man and wife. The proprietor, who knew
the young man and understood that he
was single, called the room on the telephone
and asked the guest to come down
to the desk. The guest suggested that if
the proprietor wanted to speak with him
he could come up to the room.
The proprietor went up and asked the
young man if the woman was his wife. As
it turned out. the couple had been married
a few days before and had the license in a
convenient suitcase. But thev promptly
packed up and left the hotel in a highly
indignant mood.
"Later." said Miss Wren, "a jury awarded
the woman $5,000 and the man $500 for
injured feelings. Apparently the woman
was more sensitive than the man?by
$4,500. I may he wrong, but 1 have an Idea
that a woman jury would have brought in
a verdict for the defendant and commended
the hotel proprietor for trying to keep a
respectable house.
She Thinks Women Elevate
General Standard of Juries
"I do not believe that women would he
merciless or vindictive in their verdicts.
I think, they would provide a balance in
many ways and elevate the general standard
of juries.
"Women are eager to perform all the (
duties of full citizens. It is the men and
not the women who are constantly objecting
to the hardships which this might in
elude. The man insists that he couldn't
think of having his wife or his sister hear
all of the wicked details that are brought
out In the taking of testimony. The wife
or the. sister feels perfectly capable of
hearing the details and surviving, hut the
man must shield her."
(leorge Cordon Hattle, an attorney with
offices at .17 Wall street, who has previously I
none on record as approving women in the <
lury box, believes it Is a mistake to put <
ivomen in any distinct category as desig- I
inted by the Cincinnati lawyer.
"Women differ just as men do," he said, i
'Some are inclined to he severe, otners i
RALD
)ORS
: ttvt tt m
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merciful. As a general proposition women
are more inclined to be compassionate
than men. They have a shrinking from
inflicting severe penalties.
"There are certain offences with which
women would be more inclined to be severe
than qien. These are the offences
against children?assaults, cruelty and so
forth. Women would feel it more keenly
and be eager to punish with a greater
severity.
"In certain other crimes men would be
i lore severe. In considering commercial
crimes men, more accustomed to the standards
of honesty in commercial dealing,
would be more apt to punish violators of
these standards. Take the example or a
forged check. A woman might overlook
the crime, feeling that the bank could well
afford to stand the loss; while a man, appreciating
that the whole fabric of business
depends on the prevention of forgery.
would grant little merry to the criminal.
"So far as the question of leniency of
women toward women defendants goes I
should say that women' would be more discriminating
than men and less likely to be
influenced by sex feeling.
"We all know that men juries are apt to
acquit any woman charged with a crime,
whether she is of previous good character
or merely claims to be. Especially if she
Is a young and attractive woman she makes
nn appeal to a jury of men that can very
easily overbalance the weight of testimony.
Women are less likely to be influenced by
that feeling. I don't mean to say that they
would be unjust, but they would not be influenced
In the same way that men are.
"Generally speaking. 1 should say that
v omen are more Inclined to be severe in
cases against children and 'in cases that
appeal to what might be called the maternal
instinct, such as cruelty toward
the helnless. onnresslon and similar of- '
fences. Men would he more severe in rases |
in which the appeal was to the intellect
rather than to the emotions."
In commenting on the intellectual fltnesg
of some male Jurors Mr. Hattle told the
story of the man who had a verdict on the |
tip of his tongue before entering the hox. |
Paring the defendant, the prospective |
Juror was Invited to respond to the oath
swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing hut the truth.
"I votes guilty," said the candidate, with
cut hatting an eye.
"Since we have that type of citizen to
uoal with in making up our jury lists," said
Mr. Rattle, "I do not feel that the Inclusion
of women would lower the standards
There are numerous occasions when a
mixed jury would he mighty useful, giving
all shades of opinions and a variety of
points of view."
Experience in Jury Service
May Modify Woman's Severity
The views of rommlsslonor of Jurors
Prederlrk O'Bvrne are not in complete ar
ord with the Ohio man who insists that
women are always for conviction in criminal
cases.
"Naturally women would he more severe
t first," said ComnR?<ionor O'Bvrne, "and
ring in a greater number of convictions.
TWELVE |
PAGES
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iy box?
A
>rs Assert
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I
But later, as they Rained In experience,
they would certainly_work around to the
l>roportions used by men.
"I believe they would be more apt to be
severe on a man who deserted his family.
There seem to be so many cases of desertion
in the courts. Whether they would
pive the man a fair and impartial trial on
the evidence as presented in court 1 would
not care to predict. There is the possibility
that they would not weigh with the necessary
care the evidence for and against the
wife deserter.
"I do believe that jury duty should be
optional for women, at least in criminal
cases. There are difficulties of caring for
juries in long drawn out criminal cases.
And there would be hardships to endure
which It would not he fair to force upon
women. Some States prescribe that the
jury shall he kept together night and day
during the course of a trial. This might
lead to an embarrassing situation which It
would be better to avoid if possible
"Hut sooner or later the law will be written
down on the book? granting women
eciual rights with men on our juries. My
point of view is, give them the right to
serve and have it over with."
Mr. Brenner Favors Permitting
Women to Serve as. Jurors
Jacob Brenner, an attorney and Commissioner
of Jurors in Kings county, says i?at
women hnve always ruled the world, and
the time is shortly coming when thev will
ulso govern it.
"For years," said Mr. Brenner. "1 have
urged and advised and have argued the
wisdom of enlareins the scope of activity
ror women, Having the conviction and lie
lief that they are as intelligent as men, I
liave favored permitting them to perform
|ury duty.
"While it is true that many women <io \
not possess the general experience which
ins benefited man. that is no re.non why
they should he considered incapable of performing
Jury duty. All men called for jury
luty do not have an equal experience, hut
he general makeup of all. to the number
if twelve men on the Jury, renders them
ompetent to mnke fair and just determine
ion of the facts.
"Surely twelve women would in the same
any accomplish the same result.
"There Is not a unanimity of opinion
imong Judges and lawyers as to the advisa
>!llt.v of this new departure. It is the conIction
of some that there are a number of
dnds of cases which would not only lie dis
igreeable but objectionable from a woman's
mint of view. There Is a feeling of deliaey
In submitting certain cases to a jury
if women manv of whom mtght lie young ^ J
U 7
CoNlincril on I-'ifth rag*.