Ford v. State
Ford v. State
Opinion of the Court
(after stating the facts.)
There is no bill of exceptions in the transcript, and the only question presented relates to the propriety of the ruling sustaining the demurrer to the plea in abatement interposed by the defendant.
Section 1 of the act of 1899, Chapter 4786, provides that “if it shall appear at any term of the Circuit Court that
The -third -section provides- that “it ■ shall be- the -dluty of the judge to place the names of the thirty persons so drawn, or so many of them as -shall appear in response to said summ-'ons, -ito a box, and draw therefrom file-names of eighteen persons who shall- serve as grand jurors fqr said regular or special term, and the persons whose names shall remain in said box shall serve as petit jurors-for the first week of said term of court.”
The plea shows that the regular venire of grand jurors
The plea -shows that after the first venire was quashed the court directed the issuance of a new or special venire and that in compliance with it the deputy sheriff sum
The settled rule in this court is that in pleas in abatement setting up simply irregularities in the selection of jurors the greatest accuracy and precision in pleading are required, and such pleas must be certain to every intent. Jenkins v. State, 35 Fla. 737, 18 South. Rep. 182; Tervin v. State, 37 Fla. 396, 20 South. Rep. 551; Knight v. State 42 Fla. 546, 28 South, Rep. 759. We may, therefore, legally assume, an the absence of any certain and precise allegation to the contrary, that'the court, upon the quashal of the first venire, directed) the sheriff to 'Summons • eighteen persons to serve as a grand jury from| the body of the county. The second proviso to section one of Chapter 4736, supra, expressly authorized such a direction, its language being that “whenever the Circuit Judge shall be satisfied that the public interest will be best subserved thereby he miay authorize the sheriff to summons either number of persons aforesaid!, for the purposes aforesaid, from the body of the county.” The “either number” refers to a petit jury of twelve persons or a grand jury of eighteen persons. This proviso further directs that the names of such of the persons summoned and appearing shall be placed in a box as provided by section three, and for the purposes therein provided. Section three seems to provide only for placing in a box and drawing therefrom the names when thirty persons are drawn, which would be the case when both grand and petit jurors are needed. When, however, only eighteen grand jurors are summoned where is the necessity or reason for placing the names in a box and immediately drawing all of themi out to organize the jury? In the second proviso to the first section when no grand jurors are needed, and only twelve names are drawn to serve as petit jurors, the direction is
W-e have considered the only assignment of error and point presented, and finding no error therein the judgment must be affirmed. Let an order1 be entered affirming the judprrerT.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James Ford, in Error v. The State of Florida, in Error
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. A plea in abatement alleging that after thirteen of the fourteen grand jurors drawn and summoned for a term of court had been examined and found competent to serve, the entire venire was quashed and a new venire issued under which the same thirteen jurors and five others were summoned, and that in the organization of the jury the five only were examined as to their 'qualifications to act as grand jurors, is insufficient and properly ruled out on demurrer. 2. Pleas in abatement setting up simply irregularities in the selection of jurors should he drawn with the greatest accuracy and precision and must be certain to every intent. 3. The second proviso to section 1 of Chapter 4736, acts of 1899, authorizes the Circuit Court when the list or panel of jurors drawn for a term of court shall be quashed, to direct the sheriff to summon jurors either grand or petit from the body of the county, when the judge shall be satisfied that the public interest will be best subserved thereby. 4. A demurrer is properly sustained to a plea in abatement alleging that after thirteen of the fourteen grand jurors drawn and summoned for a term of court had been examined and found competent to serve, the entire venire was quashed and a special venire Issued, and that the deputy sheriff summoned the1 thirteen that had been discharged and five 'others to make up the eighteen members of the grand jury, and that no names were placed in the box and drawn therefrom as provided by the act of 1899, Chapter 4736. 5. When it affiratlvely appears that no possible injury could accrue to a defendant by an irregularity not amounting to a substantial departure from the requirements of law in the selection, summoning and 'empanelling of jurors, an objection thereto should not avail.