NCJ Number
171886
Date Published
1997
Length
369 pages
Annotation
Using 12 historical examples of how juries have functioned, this book shows how independent juries symbolize the validity of the American constitutional republic, in which the people hold sovereign power and express their will regarding what constitutes justice and fairness.
Abstract
This review of 12 jury trials from both Europe and America over four centuries shows that the jury, when it is independent, nullifies unjust laws, topples kings, and, as a representative of the governed, holds the governors in thrall to its consent. When juries mistakenly convict an innocent defendant, it is usually because the jurors have fallen under the influence of outside forces. Some of those wrongly convicted may be victims of misguided judges. Wrongful convictions may also occur because all available evidence and witness testimony have not been given to the jury. The 12 jury trials reviewed include cases that involved freedom of the press and assembly, freedom of religion, women's and minority rights, and voting rights. In many of these cases, juries and jurors affirmed the principles of liberty and justice, even when tyrannical courts or governments tried to intimidate them with threats, reprisals, physical torture, and imprisonment. By exercising their power over government through independent decisionmaking and the juries' own criteria for fairness and justice, jury nullification has been used to call politicians to account and even to rewrite the law. The lesson of this study is that jury service almost universally brings out the best in all people, regardless of gender, race, age, geography, or level of education. This constitutional right to trial by jury, however, is being increasingly jeopardized, according to the author, by professional consultants who aid attorneys in selecting jurors, invasive court questionnaires that seek to determine how prospective jurors will vote, secretive court processes that withhold crucial evidence, and even legislative proposals that would restrict the power of juries. 186-item bibliography and a subject index