of a committing magistrate who holds a defendant to answer. Had the
Commonwealth Club bills become laws there would have been no more
placing of Grand Jurors on trial for having found indictments against
persons able to employ crafty criminal lawyers.

But lest the defendant under investigation might be wronged, the
Commonwealth Club measures so amended the codes that a Grand Juror in
any way biased against the defendant was required to absent himself from
the Grand Jury room when the defendant's case was under consideration.
Under the proposed laws each Grand Juror was required to take oath "not
to participate in the inquiry as to any matter or affecting any person
as to which or whom he is biased or could not vote freely either way
that the evidence presented would in justice require him to vote."

The Commonwealth Club amendments regarding trial juries dealt with the
problem in the same broad spirit. The chief object sought was to avoid
the trying of citizens called for jury service[73]. The proposed laws
obviated this by leaving it with the Judge to determine the
qualifications of the juror, that is to say, the examination of jurors
in criminal cases was to have been taken out of the hands of the lawyers
and required of the Judge. To compensate the defendant for whatever
substantial disadvantage he might suffer, the number of his peremptory
challenges was materially increased.

To prevent the setting aside of judgments on trifling technicalities,
the proposed amendments provided that the Judge should fix the legality
of the jury panel by general order, after which challenges could not
apply to the whole panel, although they still held as to individual
jurors.