Plucked from the gallery
A rather unusual incident occurred at the Supreme Court yesterday when a jury was being empanelled in connection with a case of alleged malpractice. The usual panel of 40 jurors had been subpoenaed for the criminal, sessions, but the 12 men who had served on a ‘‘ringingin’’ case had been discharged by his Honor from further service during that session, and another 12 had retired a few minutes previously to deliberate on an assault case. This left an attenuated panel from which to choose a jury. Counsel for accused exhausted his right further to challenge when he had asked six to ‘‘stand aside,’’ and the Crown Prosecutor, who has unlimited right to ‘‘stand aside,’’ had still six seats to fill when all names had been drawn from the ballot box. The names of those ordered to stand aside by the Crown were then put back into the ballot box and two were selected. This still left four vacant seats. His Honor
Mr Justice Reed then ordered the court doors to be closed, and the Court Usher (Mr A. Juriss) was then instructed to take the first four men in the front row of the spectators in the body of the court commencing on his Honor’s right hand.
The court was crowded, principally with medical students, and the first man selected was a wellknown University footballer, and he was followed by three others, some of whom were carrying their lecture note books. The students appeared surprised when called on to serve their King and country and the laughter which greeted them as they filed into the jury box was reminiscent of a vaudeville performance, and but the merriment was quickly suppressed by the stentorian call of ‘‘silence’’ from the Court Usher.