He might be a foreigner, but he did not behave like a scoundrel.

From Murder in the First-Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing by Kate Colquhoun. Page 202.

I never knew this about English law in the Victorian era.

Franz Müller, you are indicted that you did, on the 9th July, in the present year, maliciously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought, kill and murder Thomas Briggs. Are you guilty or not guilty?

Not guilty.

You are entitled to be tried by a jury partly composed of foreigners.

Serjeant Parry (for the prisoner): He wishes to be tried by twelve Englishmen.

This took the court by surprise. Aliens were entitled to be tried by a jury de medietate linguae – one half consisting of foreigners of any nationality. Müller’s wish not to take up the prerogative was so unexpected that a murmur ran through the room. It was a smart tactic. Parry was creating the impression that Müller would behave with all the unflinching honour expected of an Englishman, reinforcing the powerful effect of his calm, passive exterior. He might be a foreigner, but he did not behave like a scoundrel.