In re the People

The Constitution of the State provides that “ the trial by jury in all cases in which it has been heretofore used, shall remain inviolate forever.” (Art. 1, § 2.) The test, therefore, in any case, where a jury trial is demanded, and which has not been expressly provided for by statute, is whether the practice at common law was to grant a jury trial in such a case. An examination of the cases in which a jury trial was granted at common law exhibits a wide variation and may not include the specific case involved. A general rule must, therefore, be deduced from the practice at common law. The…