The Call to Abolish the Jury System
A territorial editor argues that the jury system is a cumbersome obstacle to justice in a lawless frontier.
It certainly seems as though crime was on the increase, especially in the Northwest. With the prosperity of Washington and the money-making opportunities presented, there have come the tramp and the social outcast. These have been drawn here in numbers out of proportion to our population, and as a natural consequence, the sessions of our courts are largely consumed by criminal cases, and many rogues go undetected and unpunished. The expansive and cumbersome jury system, as a rule, impedes the swift and true application of justice, and an ignorant, dishonest, or stubborn and prejudiced juryman will often swing the balance of the 'peers' to agree with him in a verdict or else render the opinions of the other seven inoperative by holding out against them. The system is radically wrong, and if there is to be a lessening of crime and injustice it must be changed; we believe that there are few honest men who would not far rather have his case passed upon by a just judge than the average jury.
“The expansive and cumbersome jury system, as a rule, impedes the swift and true application of justice.”
This editorial captures the deep-seated anxiety over the rapid growth and changing social demographics of late-19th-century Washington. The argument for replacing juries with expert judges reflects the era's technocratic impulse, a sentiment that periodically re-emerges in modern debates about judicial efficiency versus democratic oversight.
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