CHAPTER LIX.
THE LAWS UNDER THE JUDGES—THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE—ELECTIONS—RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE—CHURCH AND STATE—THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.
WE NEXT enter into the consideration of the law as it existed under the Judges, gathering our information from various passages in which it is directly referred to, or wherein some historical incident is narrated which throws light on its powers and manner of execution.
From the death of king Mosiah II. (B. C. 91), the governmental authority was vested in a chief judge and other subordinate judges and officers, all of whom were elected by the voice of the people, to judge according to the laws which had been given to and accepted by the people. Their authority was defined by the law (the code of Mosiah), but within the bounds therein prescribed they appear to have held unrestricted powers. This was especially so in the case of the chief judge. No civil council or parliament divided with the chief executive the authority to make war or conclude peace, to decide the terms of treaties, or frame enactments for the regulation of public affairs. No direct statement is made of the length of the term that a judge remained in office, but from the historical narrative we gather the idea that he was elected for life or during good conduct. We have instances of judges resigning, but none of their removal by the people because their term of office had expired. Each city or land appears to have had its chief judge or ruler as well as its inferior magistrates, all of whom were responsible to the chief judge of the whole nation, whose seat of government was located in the Nephite capital, Zarahemla, when the city was not in the hands of Lamanites or traitors.
The manner of conducting elections is not clearly defined. The result is always spoken of as the voice of the people. The mode of procedure was uniform, that is, it was the same throughout the land. In the election of the first chief judge (Alma the younger), the people assembled in bodies throughout all the land to cast in their voices, which conveys the impression that they declared their choice viva voce, or by acclamation rather than by lot or ballot. It is quite possible that the methods were entirely dissimilar to any known at modern elections; this, however, is but conjecture.
When the sentiments of the people were greatly divided and party feeling ran high, the opposing factions assembled in separate bodies throughout the land to cast in their voices, as in the attempt to make Amlici king. The decisions of the people in these assemblies or mass meetings were laid before the judges, who proclaimed the result. In cases where the petition was made for any particular object, or for a change in the law, the judge directed that a special election (if we may so term it) be held, and the results were proclaimed according to the voice of the people, as a whole, or if they were divided, according to the voice of the majority.
Under the code of Mosiah, the judges received wages according to the time which they labored to judge those who were brought before them; and their wages were a senine of gold, or its equivalent a senum of silver, for each day that they were thus employed. As the Nephites had changed the names and values of their coins from the old Hebrew standards, we have no direct way of judging from the record how liberally these officers were remunerated. Lawyers, also, were hired and appointed by the people to administer the law at the time of their trials; it is presumable that these acted in behalf of the republic somewhat in the capacity of prosecuting attorneys in the United States. If trial by jury was in vogue among the Nephites, we have not been able to find any reference to that method; indeed the evidence is altogether in favor of the idea that the judge decided as to the guilt or innocence of the accused, and, if adjudged guilty, passed sentence on the culprit. The corruption of these lawyers and judges early became, in some portions of the land, a foundation for the destruction of the government.
When the chief judge was elected he took an oath of office, and it is presumable that the lesser officers did the same. The nature of that oath can be easily understood by referring to the case of Pahoran. He was appointed chief judge and governor over the people, with an oath and sacred ordinance to judge righteously, and to keep the peace, and the freedom of the people, and grant unto them their sacred privileges to worship the Lord their God; yea, to support and maintain the cause of God in all his days, and to bring the wicked to justice, according to their crimes.
The punishment of corruption, or malfeasance in office, was specially provided for. King Mosiah explains the provisions of the law on this subject in the following language: And now if ye have judges and they do not judge you according to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they may be judged by a higher judge: if your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower judges should be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher judges according to the voice of the people. These safeguards became strong bulwarks for the protection of the rights of the individual and the preservation of the liberty of the whole people.
When Alma, the first chief judge, resigned that office, so that he might devote all his time and energies to the work of saving the souls of men, he nominated or suggested his successor; but whether this was simply a courtesy extended to him by the people on account of their great love for his person and respect for his judgment, or whether it was a provision of the law, is not plain. The passage states that Alma chose Nephihah as his successor, and gave him power, according to the voice of the people to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and crimes of the people.