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Essay On The Difference Between The United States And The Civil Law System

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Major differences in the common-law system of the United States and the civil law system in much of Europe. In civil matters, the European systems do not use juries. There slight exception, but only in that there is some lay participation in some matters. This is unparalleled in the system of the United States. These lay judges are temporarily assigned for a single case, but are on the same level and rank as the professional judge of the case. Nonetheless, there are some criminal cases still will have juries. In the civil law system, there is limited involvement from the general population.
Also uncommon to the system of the United States, is the lack of discovery. Evidence is heard by judges and is the actual person in trial’s case management. For instance, judges will talk to witnesses. The attorney only offers evidence and the judge decides what they will hear. This means a case …show more content…

In the system of the United States, for instance, the attorney has a better opportunity to advocate for their client. Additionally, the manner of the introduction of evidence can allow the party to ensure all of the evidence that could possibly help them will be heard and part of the trial. However, with the less active role of the judge and the greater role of the citizenry, the party could lose a case because of the untrained people called to hear their story in the jury. With a judge taking a more active role in the case, the party will be sure to have a trained professional decide on the trial, only with the possible addition of a lay person on their case. This means that the evidence offered is less likely to be tainted by a clever turn of phrase from an attorney on the other side. There is more objectivity in the trial with a judge taking the active role. Yet, this also means their attorney cannot argue as easily for evidence to be taken more strongly or weakly since that determination is left to the

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Jurors should not know anything about a specific case and not follow public affairs and read the news (Doc F). When a person is selected to be part of a jury, they have to say an oath stating that they will not use their emotions to determine the verdict of a trial. If a juror is caught using their emotions, they will be fined for a crime called perjury. Since there are twelve people in a jury, there is a variation of opinions when the jury decides a verdict. But, a judge is more professional and knows how to only use the evidence provided and be less biased.

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Americans have control over the legislative and the executive branch of government by being able to elect leaders and think up an idea for a law. Even though the people do not get to elect judges in the judicial branch, they get to be a part of it themselves. The jury system encourages citizens to show their citizenship. Furthermore, it turns ordinary people into self-governors (Doc C). By people being apart of the jury system they are “promoting self-governance and civic participation” while they decide if a person is guilty or not guilty (Doc C).

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With twelve people judging a case, it is more likely that someone will have the sense and maturity to decide to put aside their own beliefs and only go with the facts. Thus, having a jury gives a better safety guard for the defendant. Yes, the media will often over-publicize a case, causing a possible bias in the jurors, but in the end in cases such as the one in Document D, the jury was able to put aside the media and do what is

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Trial, defined by Dictionary.com (n.d.) states “the examination before a judicial tribunal of the facts put in issue in a cause, often including issues of law as well as those of fact”. A trial is to bring and present information to a tribunal (a court is a form of tribunal) before a jury, judge, or other designated trier, in a formal way. This allows the authorities to adjudicate the claims or the disputes of the accused person in order to attain a resolution to the dispute. (Yale Law Journal, 507) The criminal defendant also has the right to have a public trial or a secret trial depending on the case.

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Based on results, less than two percent of civil and criminal cases are heard by jurors. (Doc. A) Our jury system is excelling because these are only serious cases that are being heard by our American Jury System which means we can be very selective in our jury members. In most criminal cases, defendants agree to a guilty plea or a plea bargain.

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During a Bench Trial, the judge decides what the verdict is and his or her opinion is the only one that matters. However, a Jury Trial uses the opinion of twelve ordinary citizens. Just based on the fact that more people are deciding the verdict makes it more just. One person, the judge, may overlook a small detail. Consequently, the case could have a totally different result if that detail was not overlooked.

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The jury may not be experienced enough and can make fatal mistakes. Not only are the jurors biased, they are inexperienced. As shown in cartoon 1, 2, and 3 (Document E), many of the jurors have no experiences with court and base their verdicts on factors other than what the lawyers are giving them. Examples such as the jurors being dogs, verdict based on appearance, and being distracted with other issues during the court trial. The juror is inexperienced and biased, while the judge is experienced with what is going around during a trial, and they have been trained to be able to see both sides of a story and decide on evidence and

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In this paragraph, the advantages and disadvantages of trial by jury will be discussed. The main advantages are that juries introduce community values into the legal process and can influence the system (Joyce, 2013); they can achieve a sense of equity and fairness without enforcing unjust laws; in addition, juries are independent and neutral (Davies, 2015). Moreover, they guarantee participation from the public in a democratic institution (Hostettler, 2004), and represent the population thanks to the randomness with which jurors are decided (Davies, 2015). On the other hand, the most important disadvantages are that jurors have no prior contact with the courts, no training (Hostettler, 2004) and therefore they lack knowledge of law, courtroom proceedings (Joyce, 2013), and lack of ability to understand the legal directions (Thomas, 2010). Moreover, they must face evidence which is highly technical (Hostettler, 2004).

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