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Pros And Cons Of Juries

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What are Juries? Juries are a body of people (typically twelve in number) sworn to give a verdict in a legal case based on evidence submitted to them in court. For most plaintiffs, a trial by jury (when available) is a better choice for several reasons. Having juries reduces the chance that a mistake of fact will be made. In some cases, one or two on the jury don’t believe the witness or the defendant but all 12 being wrong is very unlikely. Those who argue for judge only trials must accept that judges make mistakes and they are not infallible. There is no remedy if the judge does in fact make a mistake. Another positive of trial by Jury is that it helps the criminal justice system reflect the values and standards of the public.

On the other
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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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1186 Words | 5 Pages

However, the Court also noted that larger juries might be necessary in certain cases to ensure a fair trial. Despite the Court's rulings, some critics argue that a six-person jury is not large enough to provide an adequate representation of the community and that it may be more susceptible to biases and errors. However, others argue that smaller juries can be more efficient and can still provide a fair trial with proper safeguards and procedures in place. This is an important part of our lives because it helps ensure that people accused of crimes get a fair trial. Having a jury of a certain size can affect the outcome of a trial.

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A grand jury is composed of twelve people, to determine if there is enough evidence to send an accused individual to trial. Although they may not determine if the accused individual is guilty or not, they can issue a formal document saying there is enough evidence for the prosecutor to take the accused to trial also known as an indictment. According to, Texas Politics Today, “a grand jury may return indictments simply because the district attorney asks them to.” Which in the end is not fair, because the jury may believe that there is not enough sufficient evidence, but because they feel pressured they issue an indictment.

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While this idea may seem logical, some people still argue that the court system should be based on facts and not emotion. However, like stated before, a jury works best if it takes into consideration the actual human side of the case, just like how juries ruled against slave laws in the 1800s. Summary As the case defending jury nullification draws to an end, it is evident that this legal practice is truly benefiting the American court system: Not only does jury nullification prevent unjust laws being enforced, but it also provides more reasonable punishments to criminals and controls the corruption happening in the courtroom.

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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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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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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

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The American Jury System offers the United States citizens an opportunity to be proven guilty or innocent when a crime has been committed. The twelve person jury system was established in England hundreds of years ago. Originally this system was made up of twelve men and this was huge because they had the power to go against what the judge wanted in court. There are many vital points as to why our American jury system is successful; jury trials by the numbers, ownership by jury members towards the accused, how reliable or unreliable evidence is viewed by jurors, gender balance and the detailed screening process in which jurors are selected.

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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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Is the American Jury System still a Good Idea? In the American Judicial System today, there is a choice between trial by jury or bench trial. Trial by jury is used today by selecting jurors from pools of people who are eligible, adult American citizens. Trial by jury is often controversial because of how the jurors are not professionals whereas in a bench trial, a judge is highly educated in law (Doc B).

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"Jury System; a system in which the verdict in a legal case is decided by a jury on the basis of evidence submitted to it in court. " Starting at eighteen, you become eligible for jury duty – something many have to do as one of our civic duties, however, it wasn 't always this way. As far as historians know, the jury was established by William the Conqueror who brought it to England from Normandy. However, this system that he brought was nothing more than a system that had witnesses who knew of the matter in question to tell the court what they knew. It 's a known fact that our courts and laws have changed and evolved since when we first created them, otherwise lynching and stoning would still be acceptable punishments for varying crimes.

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992 Words | 4 Pages

Although jurors can be uneducated and unreasonable, people accused of a crime should face a trial by jury, for jurors are part of the common people of society and it ensures a verdict will not be based off an individual's beliefs. One reason that a person should face a trial by jury is that the jurors of the jury are part of the common people of society. Judges

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695 Words | 3 Pages

Joan of Arc, or Jeanne d’Arc, is a heroin from medieval France who was instrumental in Frances victory over English invasion. She believed that God was instructing her to lead the French army in victory against the English in order for France to be united under the rule of a French king. However, after the French king was crowned, Joan was arrested by the English and tried by the church for witchcraft, heresy and dressing like a man. The importance placed upon Joan dressing in masculine attire during her trial is indicative of the threat she posed to the Church of England. The church’s influence on society in medieval England is showcased in Joan’s trial through her refusal to accept their authority as higher than the voices she hears.

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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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