About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Panel 1 (1940)

handle is hein.journals/panelmbu18 and id is 1 raw text is: To increase the effectiveness of the Grand Jury System PANEL A Publication Devoted to the Exchange of Views of Public Officials and Citizens in the Efort to Prevent Crime and Secure the True Administration of Justice PUBLISHED BY THE GRAND JURY ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK COUNTY Contributions and letters in The Panel are either credited to their authors or signed with the names or initials of their writers and the Association assumes no responsibility for the opinions contained therein beyond expressing the views that the subjects they treat of are worthy of the attention of Grand Jurors. VOL. 18 OCTOBER, 1940 NO. I Accomplice Testimony Discussed Problem Looms Larger in Light of Recent Criminal Cases In permitting conviction on the uncorroborated testimony of an ac- complice, Federal criminal justice differs sharply from criminal jus- tice as administered in this State. The question looms larger than ever in the light of the many re- cent and current criminal cases in which the testimony of accomplices who turn State's evidence becomes the prosecution's main strength, ac- cording to Harold Stanley Pollard in a special article recently on the editorial page of the New York World-Telegram. And in an ad- dress before the Criminal Law Sec- tion of the American Bar Associa- Testimonial to a Distinguished Judge After sixteen year, as a Judge of the Court of General Sessions, Senior Judge William Allen will retire on December 31st of this year. As a testimonial to his distinguished career, The Panel - quotes from his remarks at the laying of the cor nerstoie of the New Criiniial Courts Building and Jail on June 28 last: Established in 1683, older by eight years than the Supreme Court of the State of New York, M the Court of General Sessions has functioned all of these 257 years. with the exception of about ten years during the period of the Revolutionary War. Time will not permit of a discussion of the history of the court. Suffice it to say-and this is not said in a vainglorious spirit-the court is generally conceded to be the greatest criminal court in the world. For sixteen years it has been my privilege to serve as a Judge of this great court In a fewe months I shall retire under the age limit. Stand- ing here among my associates and friends, I breathe a prayer that in this building no innocent man shall ever be pronounced guilty; that every defendant tried therein shall be given a fair trial; that wrongdoers may be adequately punished, and that all who function within it, whatever their calling, may be moved to serve with the colt sciousness that the safety and welfare of our Judge William Allen people are largely in their hands. Work of Grand Jury Association Inspires Membership Increase No better evidence of the citizen's growing awareness that he must work and fight to protect the rights and powers of the American grand jury system can be submitted than the membership figures of the Grand Jury Association of New York County. More than 200 new members have joined since the first of the year. That's a record. tion in Philadelphia last month, To the officers of the Association, Paul E. Lockwood, executive as- this membership increase points to sistant to District Attorney Thomas a decided improvement in the qual- E. Dewey, takes up the problem as ity and character of the personnel it affects the District Attorney's serving on grand jury panels. With Office. dictatorship rampant in Europe, After discussing the layer-by-lay- there is developing daily in America er penetration of a racket, Mr. Lock- a keener sense on the part of good wood declares that the State pro- citizens that the liberties provided secutor's most difficult problem in by our constitutional form of gov- preparation of racket trials is ob- ement can only be protected if all taining corroboration of the testi- share in the responsibilities of di- mony of accomplices. Patient and mocracy. repeated examinations of accompli- ces are necessary. Careful analysis and painstaking investigation of their statements must follow. If in- telligently directed, the persistence of the attorney will bring out the necessary corroborating evidence if it exists. Modern developments in organ- ized crime have made necessary a modernizing of State penal laws and procedural codes. There was for in- (continued on next page) Since its foundation in 1913, the Grand Jury Association of New York County has always endeavored to take a position of leadership in the widespread movement to in- crease the effectiveness of the grand jury system. Public officials and prominent citizens in communities throughout the country have made inquiries as to the Association's pur- poses, program, organization and thereupon formed their own asso- ciations. New Jury Act Good Model For Others -lope Is Now Expressed That Other Counties Will Fall in Line BY THURSTON GREENE of tihe New York Bar When Governor Lehman signed the Uniform Jury Act that went into effect on September 1st, he declared it to be one of the most important recommendations ever made by the Judicial Council, and added: It embodies the best ele- ments of the law and practice for administering the jury sys- tem which were to be found in the several counties throughout the City of New York. The bill was drawn after extended con- ferences with each of the Coun- tv Clerks and with the coopera- The Committee on Establishing tIon of the Grand jury Associ- Grand Jury Associations reports the ation of New York County. recent formation of the Minnesota A consider this bill highly Grand Jury Association, following important and beneficial to the helpful information from New people of the State. York. The committee has also re- The Governor's signature to this ceived word of new groups formed measure marked the achievement of or in process of formation from a goal that the Association had been Carl W. Peterson, District Attorney working toward since the Gover- of Herkimer County, N. Y.; Her- nor's Crime Conference of 1935, man D. Olian, Assistant Circuit At- when the proposal was first made in torney, St. Louis, Mo.; William F. response to his request that the As- Harkins, Clerk Commissioner of sociation submit its legislative rec Juries, New Brunswick, N. J.; and ommendations for accomplishing its from representative citizens of New stated purpose - to increase the Orleans, La., Wilkes Barre, Pa., effectiveness of the Grand jury sys- and Citizens of Hillsborough, Inc. tem. (Hillsborough Co., Fla.) This system is as effective as grand The Association publishes The jurors choose to make it. No legally Panel,devoted to the exchange of constituted body, however perfect views of public officials and citizens on paper, will function right unless in the effort to prevent crime and the right men run it. The statutory secure the true administration of framework within which the Grand justice. The Association's Manual jury functions in this State is sub for Grand Jurors in the County of stantially adequate, and in one im (continued oi page 3) (continued on next page) ME

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most