Wiley Blount Rutledge

“ It is difficult to see why a governmental employee, merely by virtue of his employment is interested in that enforcement either more or less than any good citizen is or should be. * * * We think that the imputation of bias simply by virtue of governmental employment, without regard to any actual partiality growing out of the nature and circumstances of particular cases, rests on an assumption without any rational foundation.' Ibid.
The Court was not confronted in the Wood case with the exact situation we have here, namely, that all of the jurors finally selected were Government employees. ”

“ We take petitioner at his word as expressed by his repeated choices. The fact that he exercised his peremptory challenges as he did, so frequently and consistently to eliminate privately employed jurors and retain only Government employees, hardly can be said to give cause for him to claim overweighting of the jury with Government employees. There was no defect of the panel in this respect. Nor is there any claim or basis for one that the prosecution utilized its peremptory challenges to bring about a jury constituted only of them. ”

“ Whether or not employment in the Treasury outside the Narcotics Bureau would constitute ground for challenge for 'actual bias,' [24] such employment in the connections disclosed here affecting Moore and Root was not so obvious a disqualification or so inherently prejudicial as a matter of law, in the absence of any challenge to them before trial, as to require the court of its own motion or on petitioner's suggestion afterward to set the verdict aside and grant a new trial. ”

“ In ruling upon petitioner's objection the trial judge assessed the situation as follows: 'Chance has resulted in this jury panel of twelve being composed of Government employees, but the jury list from which they by chance were selected is a mixture of Government employees and private employees. ”

“ As to this the Court said of the statute, 'The enactment itself is tantamount to a legislative declaration that the prior disqualification (under the Crawford ruling) was artificial and not necessary to secure impartiality.' Id., 299 U.S. at pages 148, 149, 57 S.Ct. at page 186. By way of sustaining the legislative judgment, the Court added on its own account:
'In criminal prosecutions the Government is acting simply as the instrument of the public in enforcing penal laws for the protection of society. In that enforcement all citizens are interested. ”

“ It afforded further assurances, beyond those given by Art. III, § 2, par. 3, relating to trial by jury, inrespect to speed, publicity, impartiality, etc. Id., 299 U.S. at page 142, 57 S.Ct. at page 183. But it did not require in these respects 'the particular forms and procedure used at common law.' 299 U.S. at page 143, 57 S.Ct. at page 184. The opinion emphasized especially that 'Impartiality is not a technical conception. It is a state of mind. ”

“ It continued specified exemptions previously existing, including all executive and judicial officers of the United States, and then directed in presently material part: 'All other persons, otherwise qualified according to law whether employed in the service of the government of the United States or of the District of Columbia * * * shall be qualified to serve as jurors in the District of Columbia and shall not be exempt from such service * * *.' D.C. Code 1940, § 11-1420.
The Wood case was a criminal prosecution for theft from a private corporation. ”

“ Hepburn, 7 Cranch 290, 297, 3 L.Ed. 348; Raub v. Carpenter, 187 U.S. 159, 23 S.Ct. 72, 47 L.Ed. 119; cf. United States v. Gale, 109 U.S. 65, 3 S.Ct. 1, 27 L.Ed. 857. See Kohl v. Lehlback, 160 U.S. 293, 299-302, 16 S.Ct. ”