Berlin, June 25. On July 1 the local Criminalistische Zeitung will 
“cease to appear for the time being”. Hence, its tirades against the 
jury system do not seem to have found the desired approval of the 
public. It was a juste-milieu paper in the juristic sphere. It favoured 
public and oral proceedings, but for God’s sake no juries. The 
half-heartedness of such a tendency is fortunately being more and 
more recognised, and supporters of the jury system multiply daily. 
The Criminalistische Zettung established the principle that no 
branch of executive power must be given directly into the hands 
of the people, hence not judicial office either. That would be all 
very fine if judicial power were not something quite different 
from executive power. In all states where the separation of the 
powers has been really instituted, judicial and executive powers 
are quite without any connection. This is the case in France, 
England and America; the mixing of the two leads to the most 
unholy confusion, and its most extreme consequence would be to 
unite the chief of police, investigating officer and judge in one 
person. But it has long been proved, not only in principle but by 
history, that judicial power is the direct property of the nation, 
which exercises it through its jurors. I remain silent on the 
. advantages and guarantees offered by the jury system; it would be 
superfluous to waste words on that. But there are the inveterate 
jurists, the sticklers for the letter, whose slogan is: fiat justitia, 
pereat mundus!* The free jury system naturally does not suit them 
for not only would they be pushed out of their position as judges, 


* May justice take its course even if the world perishes.— Ed. 


The End of the Criminalistische Zeitung 303 


but the sacred letter of the law, dead, abstract law, would be 
jeopardised. And that must not be lost. It is their palladium, and 
hence the gentlemen cry blue murder when for once a jury in 
France or England acquits a poor proletarian who, driven to 
desperation by hunger, has stolen a pennyworth of bread, al- 
though the case was proved by witnesses and confession. Then 
they shout triumphantly: You see, that comes of the jury system, 
the safety of property, of life itself is undermined, lawlessness is 
sanctioned, crime and revolution are openly proclaimed! — We 
hope that for the time being the Criminalistische Zeitung will not 
start again to appear “for the time being”.