Tuesday, April 29.
Judiciary—Its better Organization.
The Senate took into consideration the report of the committee on the bill to amend the act to establish the Judicial Courts of the United States; the first clause of which is as follows:
Strike out the whole of the bill after the word "serve," in third line, and insert "in the Courts of the United States, shall be designated by lot, or otherwise, in each State or district respectively, according to the mode of forming juries, to serve in the highest courts of law therein, now practised; so far as the same shall render such designation practicable by the Courts and Marshals of the United States."
On motion to strike out all that follows the word "otherwise," in the fourth line of the report, for the purpose of inserting the following:
"Summoned or procured in each State respectively, according to the mode directed and prescribed by the laws of each State respectively, so far as such laws shall render the same practicable by the Courts or Marshals of the United States; and where the State mode cannot be used in the Courts of the United States, the Marshal attending such Courts shall, every day the Court sits, summon a sufficient number of persons to attend the Court that day, that out of them may be impannelled sufficient juries for the trial of all causes (except cases punishable with death) depending in such Courts; and if any person so summoned shall fail to attend the Court accordingly, he shall be fined eight dollars, to the use of the United States:"
A division of the motion was called for, and the question was taken on striking out, which passed in the negative—yeas 9, nays 16, as follows:
Yeas.—Messrs. Anderson, Bloodworth, Brown, Cocke, Franklin, Langdon, Marshall, Mason, and Nicholas.
Nays.—Messrs. Bingham, Dayton, Dexter, Foster, Goodhue, Greene, Gunn, Hillhouse, Howard, Latimer, Livermore, Read, Ross, Schureman, Tracy, and Wells.
And it was agreed, that the bill pass to the third reading as amended.[47]