Jury System Dbq Essay

A man sits upon the stand as he hopes for the jury to plead him not guilty. The American Jury System has been in the United States Judicial Branch for over 385 years. The basis of a bench trial is that there is only a Judge that decides whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. Whereas on a jury trial the fate of the accused is proposed to the jury and they would decide whether he is guilty or not guilty. The jury trials provide fairness, it represents citizenship, and there is less of a bias than that of a bench trial. The reason a jury trial is better suited than the bench trial because it provides fairness. This is shown in Document A in the Jury System Mini-Q where the chart had more convicted than those acquitted by about 87%. This

This is stated in Document C in the Jury System Mini-Q “Observers of the American jury system have remarked on its ability to elevate ordinary citizens into self-governors…” This is stating that the jury system is let alone remarkable that it is also a way that will increase the motives of people to present them to the government. On the Importance of the Jury System it states that “The Jury service is a duty of citizenship, similar to paying taxes and voting.” This is saying that people view this as an act of duty that just as paying taxes and voting people have to give back to their government and participate in the jury trial. Another quote from The Role of the Public is “Courts have a responsibility to perform at a higher level of respect to citizens serving as jurors and to improve every aspect of their jury systems.” Therefore this is saying that if someone were to perform on a jury than they are treated with the utmost respect and also the other citizens that are there with

This is all stated in Document B of the Jury System Mini-Q “But, you know, if we’d long had trial by Judge in criminal cases and I were now to suggest that his reasoned and professional judgment as to fact and inferences should be replaced by the blanket verdict of pretty well any twelve men and women placed in a cramped box holed up for days or even weeks at a time you would rightly think that I had taken leave of my senses.” This letter is saying that why should we be replacing someone professional at accusing someone and a professional in the judgment of law have his job replaced by twelve untrained people. Another counter is from Document E with the comics. These comics are showing that not everyone is focused on the topic at hand whereas if it were a single judge the case would move a lot smoothly. The comics also state that the jury could just look at the person and accuse him based on his looks and not the evidence that had been presented. In the final comic it shows that the jury could have a full bias against the accused. These are all reasons why the bench trial is better than the jury