Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1875 — NO GRAND JURY. [ARTICLE]

NO GRAND JURY.

The September term of the Jasper County Circuit Court convened last Monday with no grand jury in attendance. His honor, Judge Hammond, said that he had not called the grand jury at this term, from the fact that he believed there had been none chosen by the Board of County Commissioners legally authorized to act. The legislature at the last session reduced the number of grand jurors from twelve to six, and required their selection to be made by the county board at its first regular meeting in each year. The Supreme Court recently held that the selection can not be made at any Other time. Under the new law there can, therefore, be no grand jury selected until the first session of the county board in 1876. In the same case the Supreme Court decided that grand juries selected under the provisions of the old law, before the new law came into force, may act until the selections can be made under the new law. But in Jasper bounty no grand jury was selected under the old law before its repeal, and as there can be none selected under the new law before March, 1876, it follows that the county is without

a grand jury until that time. This condition is very much to be regretted, as felonies can be prosecuted only upon indictment presented by the grand jury. As to misdemeanors it makes no special difference, because they may be presented upon affidavit and information, as well as upon indictment. No blame whatever attaches to odr county officials on account of there being no grand jury. Under the old law the selection could be made at any term of the commissioners. The act of the legislature fixing the first regular meet ing in each year as the only time when the selection cau be made, eould not, of course, be anticipated. The cases that are affected and delayed by this condition of affairs are the Pettit-McCully affray, the O’Callahan assault with attempt to' commit rape, the York-Wood shooting assault and perhaps others Lafayette was visited by the fire fiend on the morning of the 27th, destroying property to the amount of 16.000 or 18,000.