April 1888: The Legislature made a step forward in jury reform by providing for legislative appointment of 42 jury commissioners to be allotted to counties around the state. The Law Journal editors approved of the concept but not the method. "Each appointment is made by the members of the majority from that locality, and they are not responsible individually or collectively, but they all struggle for their own political friends till one of them happens to win," they said.
100 Years Ago
April 1913: Efforts at jury reform championed by Gov. Woodrow Wilson, before he left office on March 1 to become president of the United States, fell flat in the Legislature. Due largely to pressure from county sheriffs who controlled the composition of juror pools, the reform bill was amended to make it subject to a referendum. "It was distinctly intended to block the wheels of reform in precisely those counties where reform was most needed," the Law Journal editors wrote.
