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Has The Jury System Outlived Its Usefulness And Practicality?

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Has the jury system outlived its usefulness and practicality? It is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinion. Although there are many benefits to the jury system, like the ability for citizens to study law while engaging in real-life experiences and reducing the probability of corruption. But undoubtedly, the disadvantages of the jury system outweigh the advantages. Generally, the cons can be listed as the following: first, the lack of expertise characteristic, second, the presence of deadlocks and mistrials, and third, the waste of effort and money along with it. The system that originated back in 400 BCE should not be used in our modern society. The following essay will prove that the jury system has outlived its usefulness and practicality. …show more content…

It does not matter if you are male or female, white or black, religious or not, everyone gets a chance to be a juror as long as one is a citizen of the country. Although it may seem that the views and opinions of a wide range of society can be included in the decision-making process is a good concept, however, there are consequences along with it, and that leads to the biggest flaw in the jury system - the lack of experience and knowledge in the court. It is difficult for ordinary citizens to understand a very subdivided focus of controversy in professional cases. Most jury members have limited opinions on the case due to the lack of acknowledging and understanding pieces of evidence. A jury may make its decision because one party's lawyer is more persuasive than the other rather than to make decisions based on the evidence presented, not to mention the whole purpose of the jury system is to decide if one side is innocent or guilty based on pure objective perspectives of bystanders. If jurors are easily influenced by arguments, the whole purpose of the system will be invalid. Another factor that should not be overlooked is biases from jury members. The lack of professionalism can make them judge the case on irreverent characteristics like if the defendant is black or white, if they are rich or not, etc… This is strictly prohibited in law courts, but the influences in their brain cannot simply be erased just because someone is in

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The Founding Fathers wanted the people of the United States to be in a democracy or self-government and established the jury system into the constitution. It is expensive and is a long process to start a jury trial. Also, jurors are not as professional as judges and can not determine a fair verdict. The Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) effect might also affect the verdict of the jury. The American jury system should not be used because of it not being cost-effective, the lack of experience of the jury, which leads to justice not being served, and the CSI effect impacting the

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Like the Electoral College, several of the plans made by the Founding Fathers have lost some of their practicality. What worked in the past does not always work in the future, and this is the case for the jury system. The sole reason it was created was to ensure that each citizen was guaranteed a fair trial, which was a main concern due to Britain’s monarchy. In modern times, however, the judicial branch of the United States could easily give every citizen a fair trial with only a judge presiding over the case. It is clear that bench trials are superior to trials by jury because the citizens on juries are unqualified or biased, its benefits do not outweigh its burdens, and its claim to encourage civic duty is false.

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In Twelve Angry Men, Juror 1(Foreman) says, “Anyway this friend of my uncle’s was on a jury once, about ten years ago- a case just like this one..... They let him off. Reasonable doubt. And do y’know, about eight years later they found out that he’d actually done it, anyway.” By allowing different people onto the jury, they have the ability to give assumptions and information about other cases which can sway and harm the verdict.

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The last danger to the justice system is jurors on the jury duty have no common sense to figure out the truth behind cases. One example is in the play “Twelve Angry Men” juror 10 says about juror 8 “ He’s a common ignorant slob. He don’t even speak good English” (Rose 326)! Then juror 11 corrects juror 10 saying “He doesn’t even speak good English” (Rose 326). Also anyone that is a United States citizen and of the age of 18 is allowed to be called to be on jury duty.

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