Pierson v. People (79 N.Y. 424, 1880)

Earl, J.

William Pierson, the prisoner, was indicted in Livingston county for murder, in causing the death by poison of Learnan B. Witliey, in February,. 1877. He was tried at the Oyer and Terminer of that county in February, 1878, and was convicted and sentenced to bo liung. His conviction was affirmed at the General Term of the Supreme Court. He has now brought his case into this court by writ of error, and seeks to have his conviction reversed for several errors which have been ably presented for our consideration by his counsel.

The first ground of error alleged has reference to the selection of the jury. At the time of the trial of this case the Code required the county clerk to keep three jury boxes : (Code, 1038,1050,1052.) One was to. contain, upon ballots deposited therein, the names of all the jurors returned from the various towns in the county by the town officers; another was to contain the names of all jurors who had attended a term of court and served ; and a third box was to contain the names of all the jurors, upon duplicate ballots returned by the town officers of the town in which the courts wei;e appointed to be held.

The law provides that if additional jurors are needed at any term of court beyond the number regularly summoned to attend such term, the court may make an order requiring the clerk of the county to draw and the sheriff to notify any number of" trial jurors specified in the order, which the court deems necessary, to attend that term ; and that the clerk must thereupon forthwith bring into court all the boxes wherein ballots containing the names of trial jurors are deposited; aud must, in the presence of the court, publicly -draw from such box or boxes as -the court directs the number