21 Ga. App. 104 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1917
(After stating the foregoing facts.) The several
assignments of error on the charge of the court have been sufficiently disposed of in the headnotes of this opinion. The ■ only headnote which needs elaboration is the 9th. In ground 10 of the motion for a new trial it is insisted that a new trial should be granted because two of the jurors who tried the case were related to employees of 'the defendant company. Affidavits of the plaintiff and his counsel were offered in support of this ground, and it was shown, with reference to one of these jurors, that the relationship was unknown to them at the time of the trial. The affidavits do not show that the plaintiff and his counsel did not know of the relationship of the juror Victor Williams, and for this reason the fact of disqualification of this juror need not be considered. With reference' to the other juror, Bryant, thé motion shows that he had two sons-in-law who were employees of the defendant company. The courts of this State have held that an employee of one of the parties is disqualified as a juror. See Temples v. Central Ry. Co., 15 Ga. App. 115 (82 S. E. 777), and discussion of this question by Judge Bussell; see also Central R. Co. v. Mitchell, 63 Ga. 173. At common law the rule was that one is not a competent juror in a case if he is master, servant, steward, counsellor or attorney of either party. In such case a juror may be challenged for principal eáuse as an absolute disqualification of
Judgment affirmed.