Misplaced Pages

#146853

172-509: Homesteaders [REDACTED] United States Army Frank Wolcott Frank M. Canton [REDACTED] Amos W. Barber Nate Champion   † William "Red" Angus [REDACTED] Benjamin Harrison [REDACTED] J.J. Van Horn [REDACTED] Charles B. Gatewood [REDACTED] Charles S. Isley The Johnson County War , also known as the War on Powder River and

344-487: A coroner . A coroner is a public official (often an elected local government official in the United States), who is charged with determining the circumstances leading to a death in ambiguous or suspicious cases, such as of Jeffrey Epstein . A coroner's jury is generally a body that a coroner can convene on an optional basis in order to increase public confidence in the coroner's finding where there might otherwise be

516-647: A cabin near the Middle Fork of the Powder River when a group of armed men went inside. Only two were able to fit into the small cabin while four others stood by outside. Champion was immediately awakened by the intrusion, and as the gunmen pointed their weapons at him, Champion reached for his own pistol hidden under a pillow and a shootout commenced. Champion successfully shot two of the gunmen, mortally wounding and killing assassin Billy Lykins. The rest of

688-501: A cannon but was turned down. A blacksmith named Rap Brown tried to build his own cannon, but it exploded when he first tested it. He then built a siege engine which the posse referred to as a "go-devil' or "ark of safety" - a large, bullet-resistant wagon that would help the settlers get close to the ranch so they could throw dynamite at the Invaders. Fortunately for the Invaders, one of their members, Mike Shonsey, managed to slip from

860-528: A certain amount of taxes for poor relief . This expanded the number of potential jurors, even though only a small minority of Irish people were eligible to serve. Until the 1870s, jurors in England and Ireland worked under the rule that they could not leave, eat, drink, or have a fire to warm themselves by, though they could take medicine. This rule appears to have been imposed with the idea that hungry jurors would be quicker to compromise, so they could reach

1032-404: A conflict of interest, such as initiatives that will not show benefits before the next election or decisions that impact the types of income politicians can receive. They also are particularly well-suited to complex issues with trade-offs and values-driven dilemmas. The modern jury evolved out of the ancient custom of many ancient Germanic tribes whereby a group of men of certain social standing

1204-416: A controversy. In practice, coroner's juries are most often convened in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety by one governmental official in the criminal justice system toward another if no charges are filed against the person causing the death, when a governmental party such as a law enforcement officer is involved in the death. A citizens' assembly is a group of people selected by lottery from

1376-463: A crime or excuse them on various grounds, such as being ill or holding certain jobs or offices. Serving on a jury is normally compulsory for individuals who are qualified for jury service . Skipping service may be inevitable in a small number of cases, as a summoned juror might become ill or otherwise become unexpectedly unable to appear at the court. However, a significant fraction of summoned jurors may fail to appear for other reasons. In 1874, there

1548-595: A division of functions between the sheriff, the jury of local men, and the royal justices ushered in the era of the English Common Law . Sheriffs prepared cases for trial and found jurors with relevant knowledge and testimony. Jurors 'found' a verdict by witnessing as to fact, even assessing and applying information from their own and community memory—little was written at this time and what was, such as deeds and writs, were subject to fraud. Royal justices supervised trials, answered questions as to law, and announced

1720-742: A financial disadvantage, the homesteaders outnumbered the cattle barons significantly, and they tried to use this to win court cases by participating in the jury . However, records showed that they were still not successful. Many of the large ranching outfits in Wyoming were organized as the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (the WSGA) and gathered socially at the Cheyenne Club in Cheyenne, Wyoming . Comprising some of

1892-523: A free hand in summoning freely from among those people who were qualified to be jurors. In 1920, three of these ten towns – Leicester, Lincoln, and Nottingham – consistently empanelled assize juries of six men and six women; while at the Bristol, Exeter, and Norwich assizes no women were empanelled at all. This quickly led to a tightening up of the rules, and an abolition of these ten towns' discretion. After 1922, trial juries throughout England had to satisfy

SECTION 10

#1732775724147

2064-703: A gradual decrease in this indigenous land. Many of these land-grabs occurred during and after treaty negotiations between indigenous tribes and the United States. Native Americans often traded their land in exchange for citizenship and civil rights. Due to the United States' economic power, these tribes had little leverage and millions of acres of land were transferred from their ownership. It was difficult for indigenous people to legally challenge this infringement because they lacked legal rights and legal standing. These treaties were used to naturalize and civilize Native Americans. As an indirect, de facto way to secure

2236-508: A guilty one." The resulting Wantage Code formally recognized legal customs that were part of the Danelaw . The testimonial concept can also be traced to Normandy before 1066, when a jury of nobles was established to decide land disputes. In this manner, the Duke, being the largest land owner, could not act as a judge in his own case. One of the earliest antecedents of modern jury systems

2408-572: A highly mythologized and symbolic story of the Wild West and over the years variations of the story have come to include some of its most famous historical figures. In addition to being one of the best-known range wars of the American frontier, its themes, especially class warfare , served as a basis for numerous popular novels, films and television shows in the Western genre . Conflict over land

2580-578: A homemade bomb in the cavalry's barracks. Noted officer Charles B. Gatewood was seriously injured by the bomb blast in the barracks, shattering his left arm and ending his cavalry career. The Ninth Cavalry of " Buffalo Soldiers " was ordered to Fort McKinney to replace the Sixth, commanded by Major Charles S. Isley. In a fortnight the Buffalo Soldiers moved from Nebraska to the rail town of Suggs, Wyoming , where they created "Camp Bettens" to quell

2752-400: A juror, or in another application, a witness. Once the list of prospective jurors has assembled in the courtroom the court clerk assigns them seats in the order their names were originally drawn. At this point the judge often will ask each prospective juror to answer a list of general questions such as name, occupation, education, family relationships, time conflicts for the anticipated length of

2924-553: A jury pool occurs when a trial is announced and juror names are randomly selected and called out by the jury pool clerk. Depending on the type of trial—whether a 6-person or 12 person jury is needed, in the United States—anywhere from 15 to 30 prospective jurors are sent to the courtroom to participate in voir dire , pronounced [vwaʁ diʁ] in French, the oath to speak the truth in the examination testing competence of

3096-511: A jury was spread through the British Empire, first to Ireland and then to other countries, the size of the jury was one of the details that was adapted to the local culture. The tradition in England was to have twelve jurors, but other countries use smaller juries, and some, such as Scotland, use larger juries. The size of the jury is to provide a "cross-section" of the public. In Williams v. Florida , 399 U.S. 78 (1970),

3268-572: A lethal gunman. At a young age he had worked as a cowboy in Texas, and in 1871 he started a career in robbery and cattle rustling, as well as killing a Buffalo Soldier on October 10, 1874. Historian Harry Sinclair Drago described Canton as a "merciless, congenital, emotionless killer. For pay, he murdered eight—very likely ten—men." On July 20, 1889, a range detective from the WSGA named George Henderson accused Ella Watson (better known as Cattle Kate ),

3440-479: A list of registered voters in the locale), people who have driver's licenses or other relevant data bases. When selected, being a member of a jury pool is, in principle, compulsory. Prospective jurors are sent a summons and are obligated to appear in a specified jury pool room on a specified date. However, jurors can be released from the pool for several reasons including illness, prior commitments that cannot be abandoned without hardship, change of address to outside

3612-462: A local rancher, of stealing cattle from a fellow rancher by the name of Albert John Bothwell. The cattlemen sent riders to seize Watson before capturing her husband Jim Averell as well. Both of them were subsequently lynched. This gruesome act was one of the rare cases in the Old West in which a woman was lynched, an event that appalled many of the local residents and paved the way for future events in

SECTION 20

#1732775724147

3784-524: A low fixed price of $ 1.25 per acre ($ 3.09 per hectare). To qualify, a person had to be either 21 years old or a "head of household" (such as a parent or surviving sibling supporting a family), a citizen or an immigrant declaring to become a citizen, and a resident on that land for a minimum of 14 months. To get permanent title to the land, the person had to accomplish certain actions, such as continue to reside on it or improve it for at least five years; they could not leave or abandon it for more than six months at

3956-649: A majority or supermajority . A jury that is unable to come to a verdict is referred to as a hung jury . A grand jury, a type of jury now confined mostly to federal courts and some state jurisdictions in the United States and Liberia, determines whether there is enough evidence for a criminal trial to go forward. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments , or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing presentments . Grand juries are usually larger than trial juries: for example, U.S. federal grand juries have between 16 and 23 members. The Fifth Amendment to

4128-417: A number of years individual Congressmen put forward bills providing for homesteading, but it was not until 1862 that the first homestead act was passed. The Homestead Act of 1862 opened up millions of acres. Any adult who had never taken up arms against the federal government of the United States could apply. Women and immigrants who had applied for citizenship were eligible. Most homesteading occurred during

4300-540: A range detective and member of the Invaders, mysteriously disappeared. In the fall of 1892, as the aftershocks of the stand-off were still being felt throughout the county, two alleged horse rustlers were gunned down by range detectives east of the Big Horn River . The killers escaped the law with assistance from Otto Franc , a rancher who had sided with the large cattle company faction. On May 24, 1893, Champion's brother, Dudley, came to Wyoming looking for work and

4472-547: A seminal 1902 western novel by Owen Wister , took the side of the wealthy ranchers, creating a myth of the Johnson County War, but bore little resemblance to a factual account of the actual characters and events. Jack Schaefer 's popular 1949 novel Shane treated themes associated with the Johnson County War and took the side of the settlers. The 1953 film The Redhead from Wyoming , starring Maureen O'Hara, dealt with similar themes; in one scene O'Hara's character

4644-482: A shootout with unknown suspects, and was presumed to be hiding or murdered. Ralph Cole, another nephew of Averell's, died on the day of the trial from poisoning. Enemies of the WSGA soon fought back. Henderson, the range detective who had accused Watson, was murdered near Sweetwater Creek in October 1890. The cattle barons soon tightened their control and hunted down those who tried to oppose them. The double lynching of

4816-498: A time. The Donation Land Claim Act allowed settlers to claim land in the Oregon Territory , then including the modern states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of Wyoming. The Oregon Donation Land Claim Act was passed in 1850 and allowed white settlers to claim 320 acres or 640 to married couples between 1850 and 1855 when the act was repealed. Before it was repealed in 1855, the land was sold for $ 1.25 per acre. After

4988-477: A total of 320 acres to a settler. The 1862 Homestead Act did not include indigenous peoples, so Congress passed the Indian Homestead Act to give Native family heads the opportunity to purchase homesteads from unclaimed public lands. This was under the condition that the individual relinquished their tribal identity and relations, along with the land improvement requirements. The federal land title

5160-410: A verdict and therefore eat. Jurors who broke the rule by smuggling in food were sometimes fined, and occasionally, especially if the food were believed to come from one of the parties in the case, the verdict was quashed. Later in the century, jurors who did not reach a verdict on the first day were no longer required to sleep in the courthouse, but were sometimes put up, at the expense of the parties in

5332-418: A verdict is rendered. In Canadian and English law , the jury's deliberations must never be disclosed outside the jury, even years after the case; to repeat parts of the trial or verdict is considered to be contempt of court , a criminal offense. In the United States, confidentiality is usually only required until a verdict has been reached, and jurors have sometimes made remarks that called into question whether

Johnson County War - Misplaced Pages Continue

5504-559: A verdict was properly reached. In Australia, academics are permitted to scrutinize the jury process only after obtaining a certificate or approval from the Attorney-General. Because of the importance of preventing undue influence on a jury, embracery , jury intimidation or jury tampering (like witness tampering ) is a serious crime, whether attempted through bribery , threat of violence , or other means. At various points in history, when threats to jurors became pervasive,

5676-409: Is called the foreperson , foreman , or presiding juror . The foreperson may be chosen before the trial begins, or at the beginning of the jury's deliberations. The foreperson may be selected by the judge or by vote of the jurors, depending on the jurisdiction. The foreperson's role may include asking questions (usually to the judge) on behalf of the jury, facilitating jury discussions, and announcing

5848-583: Is possible for any citizen to obtain certain lands from the Federal Government for residence, recreation, or business purposes. These tracts may not usually be larger than 5 acres. A 5-acre tract would be one which is 660 feet long and 330 feet wide, or its equivalent. The property was to be improved with a building. Starting July 1955, improvement was required to be minimum of 400 sq. feet of space. 4,000 previously classified Small Tracts were offered at public auction at fair market value, circa 1958, by

6020-426: Is the jury in ancient Greece , including the city-state of Athens , where records of jury courts date back to 500 BCE . These juries voted by secret ballot and were eventually granted the power to annul unconstitutional laws, thus introducing the practice of judicial review . In modern justice systems, the law is considered "self-contained" and "distinct from other coercive forces, and perceived as separate from

6192-415: Is told, "It won't be long before they're calling you Cattle Kate." In the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis , the main character, Rooster Cogburn , was involved in the Johnson County War. In the early 1890s Cogburn had gone north to Wyoming where he was "hired by stock owners to terrorize thieves and people called nesters and grangers... . I fear that Rooster did himself no credit in what they called

6364-577: The Battle of Suggs . Another two detachments were sent and this time the locals allowed the soldiers to investigate but no one was convicted. Another buffalo soldier, by the name of Brown, was also murdered, when a cowboy shot him while both were in a rifle range. Johnson and Brown were buried next to each other, and these events forced the Army to retire the regiment from the place in November 1892. Phil DuFran,

6536-496: The Beaver Creek Canyon , where a fight almost commenced between the two as Champion suspected that Shonsey was one of the five men who had attacked him in his cabin. He further threatened Shonsey and demanded he give up the names of the rest of the assassins. This event made Shonsey harbor hatred toward Champion and probably toward his brother Dudley as well. Dudley Champion was the last person killed in association with

6708-700: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s. In 1916, the Stock-Raising Homestead Act was passed for settlers seeking 640 acres (260 ha) of public land for ranching purposes. Renewed interest in homesteading was brought about by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's program of Subsistence Homesteading implemented in the 1930s under the New Deal . In 1938 Congress passed a law, called the Small Tract Act (STA) of 1938, by which it

6880-581: The Government Accountability Office in the United States federal government and legislative state auditors in many U.S. states. In Ireland and other countries in the past, the task of a grand jury was to determine whether the prosecutors had presented a true bill (one that described a crime and gave a plausible reason for accusing the named person). Another kind of jury, known as a coroner's jury can be convened in some common law jurisdiction in connection with an inquest by

7052-784: The Middle Ages and is a hallmark of the English common law system. Juries are commonly used in countries whose legal systems derive from the British Empire , such as the United Kingdom , the United States , Canada , Australia , and Ireland . They are not used in most other countries, whose legal systems are based upon European civil law or Islamic sharia law , although their use has been spreading. The "petit jury" (or "trial jury", sometimes "petty jury") hears

Johnson County War - Misplaced Pages Continue

7224-601: The Powder River Country , when the ranchers hired gunmen , who invaded the county. The gunmen's initial incursion in the territory alerted the small farmers and ranchers, as well as the state lawmen , and they formed a posse of 200 men that led to a grueling standoff which ended when the United States Cavalry on the orders of President Benjamin Harrison relieved the two forces, although further fighting persisted. The events have since become

7396-699: The Province of Canada in The Public Lands Act of 1860. It was extended to include settlement in the Rainy River District under The Rainy River Free Grants and Homestead Act, 1886 , These Acts were consolidated in 1913 in The Public Lands Act , which was further extended in 1948 to provide for free grants to former members of the Canadian Forces . The original free grant provisions for settlers were repealed in 1951, and

7568-675: The Sandhills of north-central Nebraska required more than 160 acres for a claimant to support a family, Congress passed the Kinkaid Act, which granted larger homestead tracts, up to 640 acres, to homesteaders in Nebraska. This act allowed homesteads within Forest Reserves (created from 1891 on) and National Forests (from 1905? on), responding to opponents of the nation's Forest Reserves who felt land suited for agriculture

7740-611: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Florida state jury of six was sufficient, that "the 12-man panel is not a necessary ingredient of "trial by jury," and that respondent's refusal to impanel more than the six members provided for by Florida law "did not violate petitioner's Sixth Amendment rights as applied to the States through the Fourteenth ." In Ballew v. Georgia , 435 U.S. 223 (1978),

7912-561: The University of Glasgow suggested that a civil jury of 12 people was ineffective because a few jurors ended up dominating the discussion, and that seven was a better number because more people feel comfortable speaking, and they have an easier time reaching a unanimous decision. Jurors are expected to be neutral, so the court may inquire about the jurors' neutrality or otherwise exclude jurors who are perceived as likely to be less than neutral or partial to one side. Jury selection in

8084-550: The Wyoming Range War , was a range conflict that took place in Johnson County , Wyoming from 1889 to 1893. The conflict began when cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged rustlers in the area, many of whom were settlers who competed with them for livestock, land and water rights. As violence swelled between the large established ranchers and the smaller settlers in the state, it culminated in

8256-453: The evidence in a trial as presented by both the plaintiff (petitioner) and the defendant (respondent) (also known as the complainant and defendant within the English criminal legal system). After hearing the evidence and often jury instructions from the judge , the group retires for deliberation , to consider a verdict. The majority required for a verdict varies. In some cases it must be unanimous, while in other jurisdictions it may be

8428-487: The telegraph lines north of Douglas, Wyoming , in order to prevent an alarm. While on horseback, Canton and the gunmen traveled ahead while the party of WSGA officials led by Wolcott followed a safe distance behind. The first target of the WSGA was Nate Champion, who was at the KC Ranch at that time. They were tasked to perform the assassination that others had failed to carry out five months before. The group traveled to

8600-675: The 17th century until 1898 in Ireland , Grand Juries also functioned as local government authorities. In 1730, the British Parliament passed the Bill for Better Regulation of Juries. The Act stipulated that the list of all those liable for jury service was to be posted in each parish and that jury panels would be selected by lot, also known as sortition , from these lists. Its aim was to prevent middle-class citizens from evading their responsibilities by financially putting into question

8772-529: The 1866 law was part of the reason that within a generation after its passage, by 1900, one quarter of all Southern Black farmers were farm owners. Later Homestead acts only marginally benefited African Americans. Similar laws were passed in Canada: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed The Free Grants and Homestead Act in 1868, which introduced a conditional scheme to an existing free grant plan previously authorized by

SECTION 50

#1732775724147

8944-581: The 1880s and 90s. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended homesteading; by that time, federal government policy had shifted to retaining control of western public lands. The only exception to this new policy was in Alaska , for which the law allowed homesteading until 1986. The last claim under this Act was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres (32 ha) of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He fulfilled all requirements of

9116-413: The 1894 printing; they were rumored to have hijacked and destroyed the second printing as it was being shipped from a printer north of Denver, Colorado . The book was reprinted several times in the 20th century and most recently in 2015. Frances McElrath's 1902 novel The Rustler , took inspiration from the Johnson County War, and was sympathetic to the perspective of the small ranchers. The Virginian ,

9288-481: The 23 hired guns from Texas. To lead the expedition, the WSGA hired Frank M. Canton. Canton's gripsack was later found to contain a list of 70 county residents to be either shot or hanged, and a contract to pay the Texans $ 5 a day plus a bonus of $ 50 for every rustler, real or alleged, they killed. The group became known as the "Invaders", or alternately, "Wolcott's Regulators". John Clay, a prominent Wyoming businessman,

9460-475: The 5 years of residence or cultivation and that "no part of said land has been alienated [transferred or mortgaged], and that he [the homesteader] has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States". If both parents died and all the children were under 21, an executor under state law could sell (for the benefit of the children, and not the estate) an absolute title to the land within two years of

9632-706: The Averells was followed by the lynching of Tom Waggoner, a horse trader from Newcastle, Wyoming, in June 1891. A friend of Waggoner named Jimmy the Butcher, who was once arrested for rustling cattle belonging to the Standard Cattle Company, was also murdered. Range detective Tom Smith killed a suspected rustler, and when he was indicted for murder, political connections to the WSGA secured his release. These killings precipitated more hostilities and violence in

9804-497: The Century , with Henry Brandon as Nate Champion and Jean Parker as Ella Watson. American Heroes Channel presented the Johnson County War in the sixth episode of their Blood Feuds series documentary. The story of the Johnson County War from the point of view of the small ranchers was chronicled by Kaycee resident Chris LeDoux in his song "Johnson County War" on the 1989 album Powder River . The song included references to

9976-707: The Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 U.S. presidential election , and Johnson County was one of the two counties in the state with the largest Bryan majorities. Historian Daniel Belgrad argues that in the 1880s centralized range management was emerging as the solution to the overgrazing that had depleted open ranges. Moreover, cattle prices at the time were low. Larger ranchers also were hurt by mavericking (taking lost, unbranded calves from other ranchers' herds), and responded by organizing cooperative roundups, blacklisting, and lobbying for stricter anti-maverick laws. These ranchers formed

10148-691: The Homestead Act of 1862 was to reduce the cost of homesteading under the Preemption Act; after the South seceded and their delegates left Congress in 1861, the Republicans and supporters from the upper South passed a homestead act signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, which went into effect on Jan. 1st, 1863. Its leading advocates were Andrew Johnson George Henry Evans and Horace Greeley . George Henry Evans famously coined

10320-405: The Homestead Act of 1866 due to the ineligibility of Black citizens from applying. The " yeoman farmer " ideal of Jeffersonian democracy was still a powerful influence in American politics during the 1840–1850s, with many politicians believing a homestead act would help increase the number of "virtuous yeomen". The Free Soil Party of 1848–52, and the new Republican Party after 1854, demanded that

10492-488: The Johnson County War. Emotions ran high for many years afterward. Some considered the large and wealthy ranchers as heroes who had sought what they regarded as justice by using violence to defend what they regarded as their rights to range land and water rights, while others saw the WSGA as heavy-handed outlaw vigilantes running roughshod over the law. A number of tall tales were spun by both sides afterwards to make their actions appear morally justified. Parties sympathetic to

SECTION 60

#1732775724147

10664-460: The Johnson County War." Films such as Heaven's Gate (1980) and The Johnson County War (TV-movie, 2002) painted the wealthy ranchers as the "bad guys". Heaven's Gate was a dramatic romance loosely based on historical events, while The Johnson County War was based on the 1957 novel Riders of Judgment by Frederick Manfred . The range war was also portrayed in an episode of Jim Davis 's syndicated Western television series Stories of

10836-538: The Los Angeles Office of BLM. Settlers found land and filed their claims at the regional land office, usually in individual family units, although others formed closer-knit communities. Often, the homestead consisted of several buildings or structures besides the main house. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave rise later to a new phenomenon, large land rushes , such as the Oklahoma Land Runs of

11008-521: The Maverick Act, which stated that all unbranded cattle in the open range automatically belonged to the large ranchers. The cattle barons also held a firm grip on Wyoming's stock interests by limiting the number of small ranchers and grangers who could participate, including in the annual round-ups. They also forbade their employees from owning cattle for fear of additional competition, and they threatened anyone they suspected to be rustlers. Although at

11180-464: The Oregon territory. This act followed the passing of the 1848 territorial organic act which allowed any white settler to claim a maximum of six hundred and forty acres. The Land Donation Act, however, also acknowledged women's property rights due to Congress allowing the donation of four hundred acres to settlers—land that could be claimed by heads of households—including women. This act differed from

11352-716: The President was printed on the front page of The New York Times on April 14, and a first-hand account of the siege at the T.A. appeared in The Times and the Chicago Herald and other papers. The WSGA group was taken to Cheyenne to be held at the barracks of Fort D.A. Russell (currently Francis E. Warren Air Force Base ) since the Laramie County Jail was unable to hold that many prisoners. They received preferential treatment and were allowed to roam

11524-513: The President, informing him of the increasingly dangerous "insurrection" in Johnson County. Harrison immediately ordered the U.S. Secretary of War Stephen B. Elkins to address the situation under Article IV , Section 4, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution , which allows for the use of U.S. forces under the president's orders for "protection from invasion and domestic violence". The Sixth Cavalry from Fort McKinney near Buffalo, Wyoming,

11696-527: The Rustlers" in 1884. Bandits taking refuge in the infamous hideout known as the Hole-in-the-Wall were also preying upon the herds. Frank M. Canton , Sheriff of Johnson County in the early 1880s and better known as a detective for the WSGA, was a prominent figure in supposedly eliminating these criminals from Wyoming. Before the events in Johnson County, Canton had already developed a reputation as

11868-599: The Supreme Court ruled that the number of jurors could not be reduced below six. In Brownlee v The Queen (2001) 207 CLR 278, the High Court of Australia unanimously held that a jury of 12 members was not an essential feature of "trial by jury" in section 80 of the Australian Constitution . In Scotland , a jury in a criminal trial consists of 15 jurors, which is thought to be the largest in

12040-574: The Texans was recounted by cowboy John J. Baker, where the Texans ambushed and killed nine trappers whom they mistook for rustlers in Big Dry Creek, Wyoming. They received a $ 450 bonus for the slaughter. Soon, 23 gunmen from Paris, Texas , and 4 cattle detectives from the WSGA were hired, as well as Wyoming dignitaries who also joined the expedition. State Senator Bob Tisdale, State Water Commissioner W. J. Clarke, as well as William C. Irvine and Hubert Teshemacher, who had both been instrumental in

12212-533: The U.S. Constitution guarantees Americans the constitutional right to be free from charges for "capital, or otherwise infamous" crimes unless they have been indicted by a grand jury, although this right applies only to federal law, not state law. In addition to their primary role in screening criminal prosecutions and assisting in the investigation of crimes, grand juries in California, Florida, and some other U.S. states are sometimes utilized to perform an investigative and policy audit function similar to that filled by

12384-465: The Union in 1861 (and their representatives had left Congress), the bill passed and was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln (May 20, 1862). Daniel Freeman became the first person to file a claim under the new act. Between 1862 and 1934, the federal government granted 1.6 million homesteads and distributed 270,000,000 acres (420,000 sq mi) of federal land for private ownership. This

12556-402: The United States usually includes organized questioning of the prospective jurors (jury pool) by the lawyers for the plaintiff and the defendant and by the judge— voir dire —as well as rejecting some jurors because of bias or inability to properly serve ("challenge for cause"), and the discretionary right of each side to reject a specified number of jurors without having to prove a proper cause for

12728-437: The WSGA and hired gunmen to hunt down rustlers, but local farmers resented the ranchers' collective political power. The farmers moved toward decentralization and the use of private winter pastures. Randy McFerrin and Douglas Wills argue that the confrontation represented opposing property rights systems. The result was the end of the open-range system and the dominance of large-scale stock ranching and farming. The popular image of

12900-466: The acts were Buffalo soldiers , African-American soldiers who were key in building the American frontier in the West. They often engaged in wars with Native Americans, led by the government, to take over indigenous land. The Preemption Act of 1841 allowed settlers to claim up to 160 acres of federal land for themselves and prevent its sale to others including large landowners or corporations; they paid only

13072-406: The arrest of all of them." The Invaders, however, were protected by a friendly judicial system, and they took advantage of the cattle barons' corruption. Charges against the men "high in authority" in Wyoming were never filed. Eventually they were released on bail and were told to return to Wyoming for the trial. Many fled to Texas and were never seen again. In the end, the WSGA group went free after

13244-499: The assassination squad subsequently fled. Champion was left uninjured except for some facial burns from gunpowder. In a subsequent investigation of the attack, the names of those involved were leaked to two ranchers: John A. Tisdale and Orley "Ranger" Jones. However, both men were ambushed and murdered while they were riding, which outraged many of the small ranchers and farmers in the county. The WSGA, led by Frank Wolcott (WSGA member and large North Platte rancher), hired gunmen with

13416-512: The association such as Frank Wolcott, Frank M. Canton and Tom Smith later left the area. The Johnson County War, with its overtones of class warfare coupled with the intervention ordered by the President of the United States to save the lives of a gang of hired killers and set them free, is not a flattering reflection on the American myth of the west . The Johnson County War has been one of

13588-400: The attorneys may ask follow-up questions of some or all prospective jurors. Each side in the trial is allotted a certain number of challenges to remove prospective jurors from consideration. Some challenges are issued during voir dire while others are presented to the judge at the end of voir dire. The judge calls out the names of the anonymously challenged prospective jurors and those return to

13760-430: The back door with a six-shooter in one hand and either a knife or a rifle in the other. As he emerged, the Invaders shot him dead. The killers pinned a note on Champion's bullet-riddled chest that read, "Cattle thieves beware". Flagg, after escaping his pursuers, rode to Buffalo where he reported Champion's dilemma to the townsfolk. Sheriff Angus then raised a posse of 200 men, many of whom were Civil War veterans, over

13932-488: The barn and was able to contact Governor Barber the next day. Frantic efforts to save the WSGA group ensued, and two days into the siege, late on the night of April 12, 1892, Governor Barber telegraphed President Benjamin Harrison a plea for help. For unknown reasons, the telegram failed to reach President Harrison, so Wyoming senators Joseph M. Carey and Francis E. Warren visited the White House in person and woke

14104-418: The base by day as long as they agreed to return to the jail to sleep at night. Johnson County officials were upset that the group was not kept locally at Ft. McKinney. The general in charge of the 6th Cavalry felt that tensions were too high for the prisoners to remain in the area. Hundreds of armed locals sympathetic to both sides of the conflict were said to have gone to Ft. McKinney over the next few days under

14276-466: The best-known range wars of the frontier. It has been a popular feature of the Western genre of fiction, which includes literature, films and television shows. The Banditti of the Plains , written in 1894 by witness Asa Mercer , is the earliest record of the Johnson County War. The book was suppressed for many years by the WSGA, who seized and destroyed all but a few of the first edition copies from

14448-599: The burning of the KC Ranch, the capture of the WSGA men, the intervention of the U.S. Cavalry and the release of the cattlemen and hired guns. The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in Buffalo featured dioramas and exhibits about the Johnson County War, as well as a 7-foot (2.1 m) bronze statue of Nate Champion. Kaycee, Wyoming, the old site of the KC Ranch, also erected the Hoofprints in the Past Museum to commemorate

14620-431: The case, lawyers, and witnesses are not allowed to speak with a member of the jury. Doing these things may constitute reversible error . Rarely, such as in very high-profile cases, the court may order a jury sequestered for the deliberation phase or for the entire trial. Jurors are generally required to keep their deliberations in strict confidence during the trial and deliberations, and in some jurisdictions even after

14792-469: The charges were dropped on the excuse that Johnson County refused to pay for the costs of the long prosecution. The costs of housing the men at Fort D.A. Russell were said to exceed $ 18,000 and the sparsely populated Johnson County was unable to pay for them Tensions in Johnson County remained high. On May 9, U.S. Marshal George Wellman was ambushed and killed by locals en route to the town of Buffalo. The incident received national attention, with Wellman being

14964-429: The country. The jury in this period was "self-informing," meaning it heard very little evidence or testimony in court. Instead, jurors were recruited from the locality of the dispute and were expected to know the facts before coming to court. The source of juror knowledge could include first-hand knowledge, investigation, and less reliable sources such as rumour and hearsay. Between 1166 and 1179 new procedures including

15136-477: The court's decision which was then subject to appeal. Sheriffs executed the decision of the court. These procedures enabled Henry II to delegate authority without endowing his subordinates with too much power. In 1215 the Catholic Church removed its sanction from all forms of the ordeal—procedures by which suspects up to that time were 'tested' as to guilt (e.g., in the ordeal of hot metal, molten metal

15308-435: The court's jurisdiction, travel or employment outside the jurisdiction at the time of duty, and others. Often jurisdictions pay token amounts for jury duty and many issue stipends to cover transportation expenses for jurors. Work places cannot penalize employees who serve jury duty. Payments to jurors varies by jurisdiction. In the United States jurors for grand juries are selected from jury pools. Selection of jurors from

15480-755: The creation of the Oregon territory in 1848, the US government had passed the most generous land distribution bill in US history. The Oregon Land Donation Act of 1850 had many negative effects on Indigenous people as well as Black people in the Pacific Northwest . Not only did the act use the land taken away from the Indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest, but the act also barred Black citizens from owning land and real estate. The act guaranteed land for White settlers and "half-breed" Indian men to

15652-432: The criminals and the innocent homesteaders. Rustling in the local area was likely increasing because of the harsh grazing conditions, and the illegal exploits of organized groups of rustlers were becoming well publicized in the late 1880s. Well-armed outfits of horse and cattle rustlers roamed across various portions of Wyoming and Montana , with Montana vigilantes such as the infamous Stuart's Stranglers declaring "War on

15824-504: The dispossessed land, the US government allowed late homesteading during the early twentieth century. This acted as a way to solidify settlements and permanently disrupt tribal land practices in the face of backlash. This Homestead Acts also resulted in tensions between settlers and indigenous people, partly due to settlers moving onto indigenous territory while it was still occupied. Settlements excused Indian removal and culminated in multiple wars waged by settler militia. Also involved in

15996-713: The early 21st century, some land is still being granted in the Yukon Territory under its Agricultural Lands Program. Despite the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi provisions for sale of land, the Māori Land Court decided that all land not cultivated by Māori was 'waste land' and belonged to the Crown without purchase. Most provinces in colonial New Zealand had Waste Lands Acts enacted between 1854 and 1877. The 1874 Waste Lands Act in Auckland Province used

16168-407: The early days of Wyoming , most of the land was in public domain , which was open to stock raising as an open range and farmlands for homesteading . Large numbers of cattle were turned loose on the open range by ranches . Each spring, round-ups were held to separate the cattle belonging to different ranchers. Before a round-up, an orphan or stray calf was sometimes surreptitiously branded, which

16340-512: The employ of the Invaders, including such legends as Tom Horn and "Big Nose" George Parrot . Horn did briefly work as a detective for the WSGA in the 1890s but there is little evidence he was involved in the war. Although many of the leaders of the WSGA's hired force, such as William C. Irvine , were Democrats, the ranchers who had hired the group were tied to the Republican Party and their opponents were mostly Democrats. Many viewed

16512-493: The eventual murder of people as far away as Casper and Douglas. The Times reported on April 23 that "the evidence is said to implicate more than twenty prominent stockmen of Cheyenne whose names have not been mentioned heretofore, also several wealthy stockmen of Omaha, as well as to compromise men high in authority in the State of Wyoming. They will all be charged with aiding and abetting the invasion, and warrants will be issued for

16684-399: The general population to deliberate on important public questions so as to exert an influence. Other types of deliberative mini-publics include citizens' jury, citizens' panel, people's panel, people's jury, policy jury, consensus conference and citizens' convention. A citizens' assembly uses elements of a jury to create public policy. Its members form a representative cross-section of

16856-413: The ground for cover and killing the Invaders' horses to prevent them from escaping. The New York Times reported that twenty men tried to escape behind a fusillade, but the posse beat them back and killed three to five. Another Texas gunman, named Alex Lowther, accidentally shot himself mortally in the groin during the fight. As the siege dragged on, a settler rode off to Fort McKinney requesting to borrow

17028-484: The ground, discharging and hitting his knee. He was later escorted by two others to Fort McKinney to seek treatment, but died in the fort one or two days later from gangrene. The sheriff's posse finally reached the remaining Invaders holed up in a log barn at the TA Ranch, but the latter managed to hold them back, resulting in a siege that would last for three days. The posse surrounded the whole ranch, building pits on

17200-414: The gunmen opened fire on the cabin, Champion dragged the mortally wounded Ray back to the cabin. Ray died hours later, and Champion was left besieged inside the log cabin alone. Champion held out for several hours, wounding three of the vigilantes, and was said to have killed four others. Another settler by the name of Jack Flagg passed by Champion's ranch on his wagon together with his stepson and witnessed

17372-429: The harsh winter of 1886–1887 , when a series of blizzards and temperatures of –40 to –50 °F (–40 to –45 °C), followed by an extremely hot and dry summer, ravaged the frontier. Thousands of cattle were lost in the calamity. To protect whatever livestock survived, the cattle barons reacted with a catch-all allegation of rustling against their competition. Hostilities worsened when the Wyoming legislature passed

17544-471: The homestead act in 1979 but did not receive his deed until May 1988. He is the last person to receive a title to land claimed under the Homestead Acts. The Homestead Acts were sometimes abused, but historians continue to debate the extent. In the 1950s and 1960s, historians Fred Shannon , Roy Robbins, and Paul Wallace Gates emphasized fraudulent episodes, and historians largely turned away from

17716-463: The homesteaders, and believed that the cattle barons were abusing the homesteaders. In March 1892, the cattlemen sent agents to Texas from Cheyenne and Idaho to recruit gunmen and finally carry out their plans for exterminating the homesteaders. This group became known as the "Invaders". The cattle barons had always used hired guns from Texas to take out suspected rustlers and scare away the nesters in Wyoming. One particular act of violence perpetrated by

17888-639: The homesteads were west of the Mississippi River . These acts were the first sovereign decisions of post-war North–South capitalist cooperation in the United States. An extension of the homestead principle in law, the Homestead Acts were an expression of the Free Soil policy of Northerners who wanted individual farmers to own and operate their own farms, as opposed to Southern slave owners who wanted to buy up large tracts of land and use slave labor, thereby shutting out free white farmers. For

18060-459: The house like hail. I heard them splitting wood. I guess they are going to fire the house tonight. I think I will make a break when night comes, if alive. Shooting again. It's not night yet. The house is all fired. Goodbye, boys, if I never see you again." The Invaders continued to shoot at the cabin while others set it on fire using a wagon they managed to steal from Flagg. Champion signed his journal entry and put it in his pocket before running from

18232-486: The intention of eliminating alleged rustlers in Johnson County and breaking up the NWFSGA. By that time, prominent names in Wyoming started taking sides. Acting governor Amos W. Barber supported the cattlemen, who blamed the small ranchers and homesteaders for the criminal activity in the state. Former cowboy, Indian War veteran, and Sheriff of Buffalo (the county seat of Johnson County), William "Red" Angus , supported

18404-489: The invaders painted Watson as a prostitute and cattle rustler. They painted Averell as her murderous partner in crime and pimp and Nate Champion as the leader of a vast cattle rustling empir. They claimed that he was a leading member of the fabled "Red Sash Gang" of outlaws that supposedly included the likes of the Jesse James gang. These claims have since been discredited. While men frequently visited Watson's cabin, this

18576-568: The issue. In recent decades, however, the argument has mostly been that on the whole fraud was a relatively minor element and that strongly positive impacts regarding women and the family have only recently been appreciated. Robert Higgs argues that the Homestead Act induced no long-term misallocation of resources. In 1995, a random survey of 178 members of the Economic History Association found that 70 percent of economists and 84 percent of economic historians disagreed with

18748-506: The jury. For example, in the United Kingdom, a small number of alternate jurors may be empanelled until the end of the opening speeches by counsel, in case a juror realises they are familiar with the matters before the court. Jurors are selected from a jury pool formed for a specified period of time—usually from one day to two weeks—from lists of citizens living in the jurisdiction of the court. The lists may be electoral rolls (i.e.,

18920-402: The land for more than six months at a time, then the land reverted to the government. A homesteader could also pay the $ 1.25 (or the current rate) per acre price after proof of the less-stringent requirements set in the Preemption Act. After filing an affidavit with the government's agent, and paying him a $ 10 fee, the homesteader could begin occupying their claim. The government agent received

19092-530: The late eighteenth century, King has found evidence of butchers being excluded from service in Essex; while Crosby has found evidence of "peripatetic ice cream vendors" not being summoned in the summer time as late as 1923. With the adoption of the Juries Act (Ireland) 1871, property qualifications for Irish jurors were partially standardized and lowered, so that jurors were drawn from among men who paid above

19264-606: The law in addition to rulings on the facts of the case. The American grand jury was also indispensable to the American Revolution by challenging the Crown and Parliament, including by indicting British soldiers, refusing to indict people who criticized the crown, proposing boycotts and called for the support of the war after the Declaration of Independence. In the late 18th century, English and colonial civil, criminal and grand juries played major roles in checking

19436-403: The list of eligible jurors in each court district was alphabetized, and in the later part of the century, the sheriff was required to summon one potential juror from each letter of the alphabet, repeating as needed until a sufficient number of men had been summoned, usually between 36 and 60 men for the quarterly assizes . Normally the sheriff or a constable went to each juror's home to show him

19608-440: The local population. Reception from the settlers was negative and in one violent incident a gunfight erupted between them and some Buffalo Soldiers who entered the town. After being initially driven off, 20 more soldiers slipped from the camp to exact revenge, but the locals fought back, resulting in the death of one Buffalo Soldier named Private Willis Johnson, and the wounding of two other soldiers. The brief skirmish became known as

19780-543: The mid-12th century during the reign of Henry II . Juries, usually 6 or 12 men, were an "ancient institution" even then in some parts of England, at the same time as Members consisted of representatives of the basic units of local government— hundreds (an administrative sub-division of the shire , embracing several vills) and villages. Called juries of presentment, these men testified under oath to crimes committed in their neighbourhood. The Assize of Clarendon in 1166 caused these juries to be adopted systematically throughout

19952-460: The mistaken impression the Invaders were being held there. The Johnson County attorney began to gather evidence for the case and the details of the WSGA's plan emerged. Canton's gripsack was found to contain a list of seventy alleged rustlers who were to be shot or hanged, a list of ranch houses the Invaders had burned, and a contract to pay each Texan five dollars a day plus a bonus of $ 50 for each person killed. The Invader's plans reportedly included

20124-626: The neutrality of the under-sheriff, the official entrusted with impaneling juries. Prior to the Act, the main means of ensuring impartiality was by allowing legal challenges to the sheriff's choices. The new provisions did not specifically aim at establishing impartiality but had the effect of reinforcing the authority of the jury by guaranteeing impartiality at the point of selection. In some American colonies (such as in New England and Virginia) and less often in England, juries also handed down rulings on

20296-411: The new lands opening up in the west be made available to independent farmers, rather than wealthy planters who would develop it with the use of slaves forcing the yeomen farmers onto marginal lands . Southern Democrats had continually fought (and defeated) previous homestead law proposals, as they feared free land would attract European immigrants and poor Southern whites to the west. The intent of

20468-642: The next 24 hours and set out for the KC on Sunday night, April 10. The WSGA group then headed north on Sunday toward Buffalo to continue its show of force. By early morning of the 11th however, news quickly came of a large hostile force heading towards them. They quickly rode and took refuge in the TA Ranch in Crazy Woman Creek . During their flight, one of the Texans by the name of Jim Dudley accidentally shot himself when his horse bucked and his rifle fell to

20640-410: The only marshal to die in the war. Wellman had been one of the hired guns who joined the Invaders, and his death was grieved by a large crowd. The Sixth Cavalry, sent to relieve the county of its violence, was said to be influenced by intense local political and social pressure, and they were unable to keep the peace. One infamous event occurred when a group of men set fire to the post exchange and planted

20812-495: The organization of the State of Wyoming four years earlier, also joined the band. They were accompanied by surgeon Charles Bingham Penrose as well as Ed Towse, a reporter for the Cheyenne Sun , and a newspaper reporter for the Chicago Herald , Sam T. Clover, whose lurid first-hand accounts later appeared in eastern newspapers. A total expedition of 50 men was organized which consisted of cattlemen, range detectives, and

20984-545: The parent's death. The purchaser would pay office fees for a patent to the land. The act was enacted to allow poor tenant farmers and sharecroppers in the South to become landowners in the Southern United States during Reconstruction . In the South, poor farmers and sharecroppers made up the majority of the population so the act sold land at a lower price to decrease poverty among the working class. It

21156-400: The past, qualifications included things like being an adult male, having a good reputation in the community, and owning land. Modern requirements may include being a citizen of that country and having a fluent understanding of the language used during the trial. In addition to a minimum age, some countries have a maximum age. Some countries disqualify people who have been previously convicted of

21328-537: The people living in that area. For example, in 19th-century Ireland, the qualified jurors were much wealthier, much less likely to be Roman Catholic , and much less likely to speak only the Irish language than the typical Irish person. In the past, England had special juries , which empaneled only wealthier property owners as jurors. Attacks on the American jury increased after the pool of jurors expanded to include newly-enfranchised women and minorities. A head juror

21500-513: The period 1900–1930. Land-grant laws similar to the Homestead Acts had been proposed by northern Republicans prior to Civil War but they had been repeatedly blocked in Congress by Democrats who wanted western lands open for purchase by slave owners. The Homestead Act of 1860 passed in Congress but was vetoed by President James Buchanan , a Democrat. After the Southern states seceded from

21672-505: The person "has never borne arms against the United States Government or given aid and comfort to its enemies"; unlike the 1848 and 1850 laws, it did not have any provision mentioning race. The act insured adult U.S. citizens 160 acres of land from the government to "improve their plot by cultivating the land". The Homestead act expanded, rather than changed, the 1841 Preemption Act. The claimed homestead could include

21844-434: The phrase "Vote Yourself a Farm" in a bid to garner support for the movement. In addition to the previous requirement in the Preemption Act of being either 21 years old or the head of a family, the 1862 act also allowed for persons under 21 who had served in the regular or volunteer forces of the U.S. army or navy for at least 14 days during "the existence of an actual war domestic or foreign". The new act also required that

22016-416: The political branches. The role of the jury is often described as that of a finder of fact , while the judge is usually seen as having the sole responsibility of interpreting the appropriate law and instructing the jury accordingly. The jury determines the truth or falsity of factual allegations and renders a verdict on whether a criminal defendant is guilty, or a civil defendant is civilly liable. Sometimes

22188-557: The political life of the community," but "all these barriers are absent in the context of classical Athens. In practice and in conception the law and its administration are in some important respects indistinguishable from the life of the community in general." In juries of the Justices in Eyre , the bailiff of the hundred would choose 4 electors who in turn chose 12 others from their hundred, and from these were selected 12 jurors. From

22360-447: The pool for consideration in other trials. A jury is formed, then, of the remaining prospective jurors in the order that their names were originally chosen. Any prospective jurors not thus impaneled return to the jury pool room. A jury is intended to be an impartial panel capable of reaching a verdict and representing a variety of people from that area. Achieving this goal can be difficult when juror qualifications differ significantly from

22532-444: The power of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. In 1825, the rules concerning juror selection in England were consolidated. Property qualifications and various other rules were standardised, although an exemption was left open for towns which "possessed" their own courts. This reflected a more general understanding that local officials retained a large amount of discretion regarding which people they actually summoned. In

22704-501: The public, and are provided with time, resources and a broad range of viewpoints to learn deeply about an issue. Through skilled facilitation, the assembly members weigh trade-offs and work to find common ground on a shared set of recommendations. Citizens' assemblies can be more representative and deliberative than public engagement, polls, legislatures or ballot initiatives . They seek quality of participation over quantity. They also have added advantages in issues where politicians have

22876-407: The purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever". The acquired land would not be liable for any debts incurred prior to the issuance of the patent for it. The time requirement for residence or cultivation was set at 5 years; if it was proven "after due notice" that they moved residence or abandoned

23048-632: The rainforest west of Portland, Oregon , was acquired by the Oregon Lumber Company by illegal claims under the Act. Several additional laws were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to address the concerns of African Americans . The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 sought to address land ownership inequalities in the south during Reconstruction . It explicitly included Black Americans and encouraged them to participate, and, although rampant discrimination, systemic barriers, and bureaucratic inertia considerably slowed Black gains,

23220-408: The ranch late Friday, April 8, 1892, quietly surrounded the buildings, and waited for daybreak. Three men besides Champion were at the KC. Two men who were evidently going to spend the night on their way through were captured as they emerged from the cabin early that morning to collect water at the nearby Powder River, while the third, Nick Ray, was shot while standing inside the doorway of the cabin. As

23392-401: The rejection ("peremptory challenge"), before the jury is impaneled . Since there is always the possibility of jurors not completing a trial for health or other reasons, often one or more alternate jurors may be selected. Alternates are present for the entire trial but do not take part in deliberating the case and deciding the verdict unless one or more of the impaneled jurors are removed from

23564-648: The remaining provisions were repealed in 1961. The Parliament of Canada passed the Dominion Lands Act in 1872 in order to encourage settlement in the Northwest Territories . Its application was restricted after the passage of the Natural Resources Acts in 1930, and it was finally repealed in 1950. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec did not expand the scope of the 1860 Province of Canada Act (which modern day Quebec

23736-472: The rescue of the WSGA group at the order of President Harrison (a Republican) and the failure of the courts to prosecute them a serious political scandal with overtones of class war . As a result of the scandal, the Democratic Party became popular in Wyoming for a time, winning the governorship in 1892 and taking control of both houses of the state legislature in that election. Wyoming voted for

23908-496: The right to jury trial has been revoked, such as during the 1880s in Ireland. Jurors themselves can also be held liable if they deliberately compromise their impartiality. Depending on local law, if a juror takes a bribe, the verdict may be overturned and the juror may be fined or imprisoned. Robert Burns and Alexander Hamilton argued that jurors were the least likely decision-makers to be corrupted when compared to judges and all

24080-418: The same fee for homestead land as he would have received if that land was sold for cash, 1/2 from the homesteader's filing fee and the other half from the patent (certificate) fee. The homesteader did not get a certificate or patent until they or their heirs filed, after 5 years (but before 7 years), further affidavits from two neighbors or "credible witnesses" and an additional $ 8 fee. Those affidavits affirmed

24252-405: The same land which they had previously filed a preemption claim (on up to 160 acres at $ 1.25 per acre, or up to 80 acres of subdivided and surveyed land at $ 2.50 per acre), and they could expand their current ownership to contiguous adjacent land up to 160 acres total. The homestead application must be "made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry [onto public land] is made for

24424-479: The same qualifications; although it was not until the 1980s that a centralised system was designed for selecting jurors from among the people who were qualified to serve. This meant there was still a great amount of discretion in the hands of local officials. Potential jurors are summoned to the courthouse for service. In the past, jurors were identified manually, by local authorities making lists of men they believed to be eligible for service. In 19th-century Ireland,

24596-539: The siege. The Invaders recognized Flagg as one of the men on the list and they started shooting at him. Flagg then rode away and, as the Invaders gave chase, he grabbed his rifle and beat them back. During the siege, Champion kept a poignant journal which contained a number of notes he wrote to friends while taking cover inside the cabin. "Boys, I feel pretty lonesome just now. I wish there was someone here with me so we could watch all sides at once," he wrote. The last journal entry read: "Well, they have just got through shelling

24768-459: The state's wealthiest and most influential residents, the organization held a great deal of political sway in the state and region. The WSGA organized the cattle industry by scheduling roundups and cattle shipments. The WSGA also employed an agency of detectives to investigate cases of cattle theft from its members' holdings. Grangers and rustlers often intermixed with one another in the community, making it more difficult for detectives to differentiate

24940-433: The statement "Nineteenth-century U.S. land policy, which attempted to give away free land, probably represented a net drain on the productive capacity of the country." Some scholars believe the acreage limits were reasonable when the act was written but argue that no one understood the physical conditions of the plains. After a few generations, a family could build up a sizable estate. According to Hugh Nibley , much of

25112-448: The stock interests. The WSGA then blacklisted members of the NWFSGA from the round-ups in order to stop their operations. However, the NWFSGA refused the orders to disband and instead publicly announced their plans to hold their own round-up in the spring of 1892. Soon, the prominent cattlemen sent out an assassination squad to kill Champion on the morning of November 1, 1891. Champion and another man, named Ross Gilbertson, were sleeping in

25284-427: The summons paperwork ( venire facias de novo ); it wasn't until 1871 that any Irish jurors could be summoned by mail. In modern times, juries are often initially chosen randomly, usually from large databases identifying the eligible population of adult citizens residing in the court's jurisdictional area (e.g., identity cards, drivers' licenses, tax records, or similar systems), and summons are delivered by mail. In

25456-770: The term Homestead, with allocation administered by a Crown Lands Board. There was similar legislation in Westland . It gave up to 75 acres (30 ha), with settlers just paying the cost of a survey. They had to live there for five years, build a house and cultivate a third of the land, if already open, or a fifth if bush had to be cleared. The land was forfeited if they didn't clear enough bush. Further amendments were made in 1877, 1882 and 1885, adding details such as pastoral and perpetual leases and village and special settlements. This contributed to rapid deforestation . Jury The jury system developed in England during

25628-437: The trial, at a hotel. After 1919 in England, women were no longer excluded from jury service by virtue of their sex, although they still had to satisfy the ordinary property qualifications. The exemption which had been created by the 1825 Act for towns which "possessed" their own courts meant ten towns were free to ignore the property qualifications. This amplified in these towns the general understanding that local officials had

25800-428: The trial. The list is usually written up and clearly visible to assist nervous prospective jurors and may include several questions uniquely pertinent to the particular trial. These questions are to familiarize the judge and attorneys with the jurors and glean biases, experiences, or relationships that could jeopardize the proper course of the trial. After each prospective juror has answered the general slate of questions

25972-469: The verdict of the jury. For juries to fulfill their role of analyzing the facts of the case, there are strict rules about their use of information during the trial. Juries are often instructed to avoid learning about the case from any source other than the trial (for example from media or the Internet) and not to conduct their own investigations (such as independently visiting a crime scene ). Parties to

26144-409: The war, however, remains that of vigilantism by aggressive landed interests against small individual settlers defending their rights. By 1893, the WSGA was opened to the other small ranchers and farmers, finally ending their monopoly and control over Wyoming business interests. Previous practices of the WSGA, such as vigilantism and confiscation of cattle, were finally stopped. Many prominent leaders of

26316-466: The war. Homesteaders The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain , typically called a homestead . In all, more than 160 million acres (650 thousand km ; 250 thousand sq mi) of public land, or nearly 10 percent of the total area of the United States, were given away free to 1.6 million homesteaders; most of

26488-421: The war. County Sheriff Frank Hadsell arrested six men for the lynching and a trial date was set. However, before the trial, threats were sent to the witnesses who were to testify against the aggressors. One of those witnesses was young Gene Crowder, who mysteriously disappeared under unknown circumstances before the trial. Another, Averell's nephew and foreman Frank Buchanan, disappeared from the county as well after

26660-604: The world. In 2009 a review by the Scottish Government regarding the possibility of reduction led to the decision to retain 15 jurors, with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice stating that after extensive consultation, he had decided that Scotland had got it "uniquely right". Trials in the Republic of Ireland which are scheduled to last over 2 months can, but do not have to, have 15 jurors. A study by

26832-487: The years to come. After the lynchings of their prominent competitors, the WSGA's control over the range was undisputed, until a group of smaller ranchers formed the Northern Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers' Association (NWFSGA) to compete with the WSGA, led by a local cowboy named Nate Champion . Upon hearing this, members of the WSGA immediately viewed the new association as a threat to their hold on

27004-530: Was a common occurrence in the development of the American West , but was particularly prevalent during the late 19th century, when large portions of the West were being settled by new immigrants for the first time through the Homestead Acts . It is a period that one historian, Richard Maxwell Brown, has called the "Western Civil War of Incorporation", of which the Johnson County War was a part. In

27176-404: Was a report that one-third of summoned Irish jurors failed to appear in court. When an insufficient number of summoned jurors appear in court to handle a matter, the law in many jurisdictions empowers the jury commissioner or other official convening the jury to involuntarily impress bystanders in the vicinity of the place where the jury is to be convened to serve on the jury. As the concept of

27348-523: Was a short step to ask jurors if they concluded the accused was guilty as charged. The so-called Wantage Code provides an early reference to a jury-like group in England, wherein a decree issued by King Æthelred the Unready (at Wantage , c. 997) provided that in every Hundred "the twelve leading thegns together with the reeve shall go out and swear on the relics which are given into their hands, that they will not accuse any innocent man nor shield

27520-613: Was a total of 10% of all land in the United States. Homesteading was discontinued in 1976, except in Alaska, where it continued until 1986. About 40% of the applicants who started the process were able to complete it and obtain title to their homesteaded land after paying a small fee in cash. Homestead laws depleted Native American resources as much of the land they relied on was taken by the federal government and sold to settlers. Native ancestral lands had been limited through history, mainly through land allotments and reservations, causing

27692-542: Was because she mended clothing for cowboys as a source of income. While some accounts do note that Champion wore a red sash at the time of his death, such sashes were common. While the Hole in the Wall Gang was known to hide out in Johnson County, there is no evidence that Champion had any relationship to them. Parties sympathetic to the smaller ranchers spun tales that included some of the West's most notorious gunslingers under

27864-479: Was being withheld from private development. Homestead applications were reviewed by the U.S. Forest Service (created in 1905). While at first five years residency was required (per the 1862 Act), in 1913 this act was amended to allow proving up in just three years. Because by the early 1900s much of the prime low-lying alluvial land along rivers had been homesteaded, the Enlarged Homestead Act

28036-592: Was not officially granted to Native Americans until a period of five years had passed. Because the US government did not issue fee waivers, many poor non-reservation Natives were unable to pay filing fees to claim homesteads. Access to such homesteads was further complicated by delays in resolving border disputes due to distance and discord between the US Land Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This made white settlements easier to finalize. Recognizing that

28208-473: Was not very successful, as even the low prices and fees were often too much for the applicants to afford. The land made available was also mostly undeveloped forestry, and only white people had the means to make them productive. The Timber Culture Act granted up to 160 acres of land to a homesteader who would plant at least 40 acres (revised to 10) of trees over a period of several years. This quarter-section could be added to an existing homestead claim, offering

28380-627: Was ordered to proceed to the TA Ranch at once and take the WSGA expedition into custody. The Sixth Cavalry left Fort McKinney a few hours later at 2:00 on the morning of April 13 and reached the TA Ranch at 6:45 A.M. Colonel J.J. Van Horn, the officer in charge of the unit, negotiated with Sheriff Angus to lift the siege, and in return the Invaders were to be handed to civilian authorities. The Sixth Cavalry took possession of Wolcott and 45 other men with 45 rifles, 41 revolvers and some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, before escorting them first to Fort McKinney and then to Cheyenne. The text of Barber's telegram to

28552-666: Was part of in 1860), but did provide in 1868 that such lands were exempt from seizure, and chattels thereon were also exempt for the first ten years of occupation. Later known as the Settlers Protection Act , it was repealed in 1984. Newfoundland and Labrador provided for free grants of land upon proof of possession for twenty years prior to 1977, with continuous use for agricultural, business or residential purposes during that time. Similar programs continued to operate in Alberta and British Columbia until 1970. In

28724-482: Was passed in 1909. To enable dryland farming , it increased the number of acres for a homestead to 320 acres (130 ha) given to farmers who accepted more marginal lands (especially in the Great Plains ), which could not be easily irrigated. A massive influx of these new farmers, combined with inappropriate cultivation techniques and misunderstanding of the ecology, led to immense land erosion and eventually

28896-442: Was shot and killed in cold blood. 15 miles (24 km) from town, Dudley had come across the ranch of Mike Shonsey, who, after seeing him, immediately grabbed a gun and fired at him. A coroner's inquiry ruled Shonsey's actions were self-defense and he was acquitted of murder. Afterwards, Shonsey left the country before the officials could continue with the investigation. A year before Nate Champion's death, Shonsey actually met him near

29068-431: Was sometimes poured into a suspected thief's hand. If the wound healed rapidly and well, it was believed God found the suspect innocent, and if not then the suspect was found guilty). With trial by ordeal banned, establishing guilt would have been problematic had England not had forty years of judicial experience. Justices were by then accustomed to asking jurors of presentment about points of fact in assessing indictments; it

29240-463: Was suspected of playing a major role in planning the Johnson County invasion. Clay denied this, saying that in 1891 he advised Wolcott against the scheme and was out of the country when it was undertaken. He later helped the "Invaders" avoid punishment after their surrender. The group organized in Cheyenne and proceeded by train to Casper, Wyoming , and then toward Johnson County on horseback, cutting

29412-490: Was the common way to identify the cow's owners. However, as more and more homesteaders called "nesters" and "grangers" moved into Wyoming, competition for land and water soon enveloped the state, and the large cattle companies, also known as “cattle barons”, reacted by monopolizing large areas of the open range, preventing homesteaders from using it. The often uneasy relationship between the wealthier ranchers and smaller settlers of relatively modest means steadily aggravated after

29584-561: Was used to investigate crimes and judge the accused. The same custom evolved into the vehmic court system in medieval Germany. In Anglo-Saxon England, juries investigated crimes. After the Norman Conquest , some parts of the country preserved juries as the means of investigating crimes. The use of ordinary members of the community to consider crimes was unusual in ancient cultures, but was nonetheless also found in ancient Greece. The modern jury trial evolved out of this custom in

#146853