State v. Peoples

• Decision Date: 25 November 1902
• Citation: 42 S.E. 814,131 N.C. 784
• Parties: STATE v. PEOPLES.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

42 S.E. 814

131 N.C. 784

STATE v. PEOPLES.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

November 25, 1902

Appeal from superior court, Mecklenburg county; Coble, Judge.

Will Peoples, a negro, was convicted of gaming, and appeals. Reversed.

W. H Green, for appellant.

The Attorney General, for the State.

MONTGOMERY J.

A true bill for gaming was found against the defendant by the grand jury at April term, 1902, of the superior court of Mecklenburg county, and at the same term he was tried and convicted of the offense found against him. Judgment was pronounced that the defendant be imprisoned in the county jail for six weeks, to be assigned to work on the public roads of the county, and the defendant has appealed from the judgment to this court. On his arraignment for trial, and before plea, and before the jury were impaneled, he moved through his counsel, to quash the bill of indictment for the reasons substantially stated as follows: "(1) Because the list of thirty jurors drawn by the county commissioners and summoned by the sheriff, from which the grand jury were drawn, and which found the bill against the defendant, was improperly selected and summoned, the list not having been taken from a revised jury list, as required under sections 1722, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726, 1727, 1729, and 1730 of the Code, and the amendments thereto, and that said jury list had not been revised or purged since June, 1898, and then revised with partiality, so as to discriminate unjustly and purposely against competent persons of the negro race, to which the defendant belongs, on account of such persons' race or color. (2) Because the officers whose duty it was to revise the jury list, and to draw the panels to be summoned by the sheriff, from which the grand and petit juries were drawn had revised, selected, and summoned the thirty-six jurors for the term of the court for said county, from which the grand jurors were drawn that found the true bill against the defendant, with the unlawful and avowed purpose of discriminating against persons of the negro race, who of right, being competent, should not have been excluded from the jury lists on account of their race or color, to the prejudice of the defendant. (3) Because such unjust and unlawful discrimination against the defendant deprived him of a fair and impartial trial in that court, as is guarantied to him under the constitution and laws of North Carolina, and the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the constitution of the United States, and the acts of congress thereunder. (4) Because, in the defendant's belief, he could not get an impartial trial, as guarantied him by the laws of the land, under such unjust discrimination against him on account of his race and color, there being about 55,000 population in Mecklenburg county, one-third of whom are of persons of the negro race, who pay taxes on more than a quarter of a million dollars' worth of property, and the greater number of whom are equal to the average jurors as serve in the several courts." The defendant then prayed that a subpoena duces tecum be issued from the court to the chairman of the board of commissioners of Mecklenburg county, to the register of deeds, to the clerk of said board, and to the sheriff of said county, requiring them to bring their several records pertaining to the drawing and summoning of jurors for that term of court, and also the jury box and boxes, and to give such information to the court respecting the selecting and summoning of jurors as might be asked of them, and of which they might have knowledge. The prayer embraced also a number of other witnesses. "(2) That the motion to quash the bill of indictment be granted: that the list of jurors selected and summoned for this term of the court be set aside because the officers who selected and summoned the jurors had corruptly and avowedly discriminated against the rights of the defendant, so as to prevent a fair and impartial trial under the law of the land, by excluding from the jury list competent persons of the colored race." The motion was followed by an affidavit of the defendant as follows: "That he is informed and believes, and doth so aver, that the cause set forth in affiant's motion to quash the bill is true and well founded in fact and in law, to the best of affiant's own knowledge and belief. Affiant further states that he is informed and believes, and doth ever aver, that it is the well-conceived and avowed purpose of the county commissioners and sheriff of said county and state to so manage the soliciting and summoning of the several jurors to sit as jurors in this court, either as grand or petit jurors, or both, so as to wrongfully and unjustly discriminate against defendant's right to a fair and impartial jury of good and lawful men, by shutting out or by keeping off the jury panels competent and lawful persons of defendant's race; and that affiant verily believes and doth aver that said officers have so acted in selecting and summoning the panels of jurors to attend at this term of court, said grand jury being a continued panel, or spring term panel, selected by the county commissioners January 6, 1902; and that affiant believes that he cannot get a fair and impartial trial in this court, or in any other such court, to which he is entitled under the constitution and laws of North Carolina, and the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments, and acts of the congress of the United States thereto, under such unfair and avowed discrimination against the affiant's just right to a fair and impartial trial in this court, on account of affiant's race and color; and affiant further sets forth and firmly avers that he believes that the grounds of his motion to quash the indictment are reasonable and just, and are warranted by the constitution and laws of North Carolina, the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the constitution, and the acts of congress thereunder, and the just and reasonable consideration of mankind, and that he ever believes and avers." Sworn to and subscribed before the clerk of the superior court on the 22d day of April, 1902. The court overruled the motion, and refused the prayer for subpoena duces tecum, on the grounds "that the court had not the power to quash the bill of indictment on the grounds set out in the defendant's motion and affidavit, and could not investigate the matters alleged in the motion and affidavit under a motion to quash." The defendant excepted, entered his plea of not guilty, and proceeded to trial. He then challenged a panel of the petit jury on the grounds heretofore set out. The court overruled the challenge, and the defendant excepted.

The question for decision is not whether a grand jury, in the finding of a true bill against a negro, or a petit jury by whom the indictment is tried, shall be composed, in whole or in part, of the defendant's own color, but it is whether, in the composition or selection of jurors by whom he is indicted or tried, all persons of his own race or color may be excluded by law solely because of their race or color, so that by no possibility can a colored man sit upon the jury. The only qualifications which the laws of North Carolina impose for jury service are the payment of taxes for the preceding year, and good moral character and sufficient intelligence. Code, § 1722. The defendant does not, and, indeed, could not, justly complain of the laws of the state in reference to the manner in which provision has been made for the constitution and selection of juries. His complaint is that, notwithstanding it is required by our laws that such of its citizens as possess the proper qualifications shall be placed on the jury lists, the colored race, of which he is a member, although many of them possess the requisite qualifications, are excluded by the officers who are charged by the law with the duty of selecting jurors, solely because they are of that race. If the facts be such as the defendant declares them to be, what, if any, wrong has he suffered, and, if any, what remedy has he, if any? If he has suffered any wrong, the fact that it may have been caused through the administrative officers of the state, instead of by legislative enactment, does not relieve the situation. It would still be a wrong. Carter v. Texas, 177 U.S. 442, 20 S.Ct. 687, 44 L.Ed. 839.

It was argued here for the state that the individuals who composed the grand and petit juries were possessed of the requisite qualifications for jurors as prescribed by law, that no harm was shown to have been done to the defendant because of a failure to have negroes on the jury, and therefore that he had no grievance. But is not that an erroneous and superficial view of the matter? In the opinion in the case of Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303, 25 L.Ed 664, Mr. Justice Strong, for the court, said: "The very fact that colored people are singled out and expressly denied by a statute all right to participate in the administration of the law as jurors, because of their color, though they are citizens, and may be in other respects fully qualified, is practically a brand upon them, affixed by the law,--an assertion of their inferiority, and a stimulant to that race prejudice which is an impediment to securing to individuals of that race that equal justice which the law aims to secure to all others."The right of trial by jury is guarantied to every citizen of the state. It is ordained by section 13 of article 1 of the constitution of North Carolina that "no person shall be convicted of any crime but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open court. The legislature may however provide other means of trial for petit misdemeanors with...