Note 31 — Chapter VIII

Reference to Grand Juries reminds one that the late Mr. Justice Stephen (Sir James Fitz-James Stephen) “expressed his inability to understand why a man should be presumed to be innocent when a Grand Jury have sworn that they thought him guilty.” (Mr. A. T. Carter, D.C.L.) It has been pointed out to the writer, by the way, that the members of a Grand Jury sometimes throw out a bill, because, “Otherwise, what are we here for?” In other words, without applying any very special discrimination, they take upon themselves a function opposed to the expert judgment of the committing magistrate, who has heard all the evidence.