Wilkinson v. State
| Citation | 151 N.E. 690,197 Ind. 642 |
| Decision Date | 13 May 1926 |
| Docket Number | No. 25024.,25024. |
| Parties | WILKINSON v. STATE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Delaware Circuit Court; Clarence W. Dearth, Judge.
Thomas Wilkinson was convicted of selling intoxicating liquor, and he appeals. Affirmed.
Templer & Benadum and Wm. H. Schreiber, all of Muncie, for appellant.
Arthur L. Gilliom, Atty. Gen., and George J. Muller, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., for the State.
The appellant was indicted by the grand jury of Delaware county, state of Indiana, for a violation of section 1 of chapter 23, Acts 1923, p. 70. The charging part of the affidavit is as follows: That one Thomas Wilkinson, late of said county, on or about the 6th day of December, 1924, at and in the county and state aforesaid, did then and there unlawfully sell, barter, exchange, give away, furnish, and dispose of intoxicating liquor to Sherman G. Parton.
After a motion to quash the indictment had been made and overruled, the appellant entered a plea of not guilty, upon which he was tried by a jury. The jury found the defendant guilty and fixed his punishment at a fine of $500, and that he be imprisoned for six months. Judgment was rendered on this verdict. A motion for a new trial was made and overruled. From the judgment the appellant appeals. The only question presented by this appeal is whether a woman can be excluded from service on a petit jury in a criminal case solely on account of her sex; in other words, can a woman lawfully serve as a juryman on a petit jury in the trial of a criminal case?
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 51, Burns' R. S. 1926. After the passage of this amendment, section 2, article 2, of the Constitution of Indiana, was amended to read as follows:
“In all elections not otherwise provided for by this Constitution, every citizen of the United States, of the age of 21 years and upwards, who shall have resided in the state during the six months, and in the township sixty days, and in the ward or precinct thirty days, immediately preceding such election, shall be entitled to vote in the township or precinct where he or she may reside.” Burns' R. S. 1926, § 91.
The Legislature of this state has prescribed the qualifications of jurors as follows: To be qualified as a juror, either grand or petit, a person must be a resident voter of the county and a freeholder or householder. Any person shall be excused from acting as a juror who is over 60 years of age and desires to be excused for such reason. Section 1833, Burns' 1926; Acts 1917, c. 176, p. 688.
The General Assembly has also provided for exemption from jury service for certain classes of persons named in the acts providing for their exemption, but this exemption is a personal privilege and in no way disqualifies a juror who is otherwise qualified to act as a juror, but merely gives him or her the right to refuse to serve when he or she wishes to be excused.
It would seem from the plain wording of these constitutional and statutory provisions that any woman who is a resident voter of the county and a freeholder or householder is entitled to sit on a petit jury in the trial of a criminal case.
In the Bill of Rights of the Indiana Constitution, art. 1, § 13 (section 65, Burns' 1926), it is provided that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have a right to...
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