NCJ Number
103890
Editor(s)
D Challinger
Date Published
1986
Length
276 pages
Annotation
Twenty-two papers from a 1986 Australian seminar on the jury address the advantages and disadvantages of the jury system and ways in which juries can become more competent in their decisionmaking.
Abstract
One paper notes that although Australian jurisdictions have made no overt changes in the jury system, government and court policy have eroded the jury's role in case dispositions through the expansion of summary trials and the reduction of contested cases through plea negotiations. Papers advancing the benefits of the jury system note that it is the primary public input in the criminal justice system, without which public perceptions of justice would not be primary in case dispositions. A number of papers challenge the argument that juries are incapable of dealing with complex legal and evidentiary issues. Suggestions are offered for enhancing juries' ability to render rational and just decisions that accord with the evidence presented. Reform recommendations focus on jury instructions, the presentation of scientific evidence, and jury selection. References and tabular data. For individual papers, see NCJ 103891-901.