Preview

They Jury System

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1774 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
They Jury System
Introduction
The jury system is a legal system for determining the facts at issue in a criminal law suit. In Jamaica the government and court system affects the jury system immensely. As said by former minister of justice and security, Mr. K. D. Knight, in a gleaner article published Wednesday February 21, 2011, there is no intention to abolish the jury system, with that said the jury system can only be reformed. In the issue of the gleaner published on 6 July, 2013 the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said: ‘the Government must move quickly to fix the jury system as a shortage of persons to serve as jurors is a major contributor to the low case disposal rate in the nation’s courts.’ The DPP also recommended that the daily payment to persons serving as jurors be increased. The jury system needs to be reformed because of the following reasons: The jury system can be bias, jurors are not showing up to perform their civic duty and the jury system is too cumbersome and slow which makes it expensive to maintain. There are several solutions to these problems; these solutions were developed by the ministry of justice in a meeting about improving the jury system. Some of the solutions are: Working in tandem with the Court Management Service to develop a campaign to encourage citizens to perform their critical civic duty – jury service, lobbying the ministry of finance for an increase of the daily stipend paid to persons who perform their jury duty, review the list of people who are exempt from jury duty among others.
This topic was selected so the researcher could gather information on the topic at hand and the researcher hopes to find proper solutions to the problems plagued by the jury system.

Aims
Critically asses the court and jury system in the island of Jamaica.
Come to a conclusion on whether the jury system should be abolished or reformed.

Objectives
To determine whether the jury reaches perverse decisions after deliberation.
To



Bibliography: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=46271 http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010221/cleisure/cleisure1.html http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130704/letters/letters6.html http://go-jamaica.com/pressrelease/item.php?id=488

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Trial By Jury

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It isn’t arduous to see why some may question the efficiency of trial by jury and whether it should, and is able to, continue to discover innocence or guilt. Regarding the trial of Vicky Pryce, the failure of the jury within the hearing conjured ridicule and disdain from the judge and the media. The case deeply unsettled the trust of many in the system. The eight women and four men were dismissed after illustrating “fundamental deficits of understanding” (Jacobson, Hunter & Kirby, 2015, p. 55). Their profuse questions for the judge were deemed as unintelligent and unnecessary and so a costly re-trial was required. Consequently, this ordeal provoked a stronger desire for the abolition of trial by jury, to be replaced by a single judge as a more…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Include contemporary examples ( within the last 10 years ) of ethnicity-based jury nullification. Note: you can use news articles ]…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This is a jury trial analysis paper in which I am to identify and discuss the steps in a jury trial. I will also discuss the constitutional rights that are enacted during jury trial. I will examine and discuss the selection of a fair and unbiased jury. There are seven steps in a jury trial and I will discuss them all throughout my paper.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of Magistrates and Jurors are similar in ways of characteristics needed; for example both must be aged 18-70 and those who are in the police or have previous criminal convictions are ruled out. The selection process is however very different, the Lord Chancellor will appoint lay magistrates on behalf of the queen whereas jurors are selected by an electoral register for the area in which the court is situated and is done by a computer at the Central Summoning Bureau. Lay Magistrates are unpaid, part time volunteers whereas jurors are also unpaid but may be unwilling however failure to attend can result in prosecution or a fine. Magistrates can claim a small allowance and compensation for lost earnings. Both parties make their decision based on facts, such as guilt or innocence in trials whereby the difference is that Magistrates can sentence the defendant whereas jurors cannot. Both are used in the right for a ''trial by our peers'', ordinary people with experience of real life situations. Jurors will serve for a period of usually two weeks as apposed to Magistrates who will serve part time for different periods of time. Although lay magistrates and district judges do a very similar job there are many differences between how they work, their qualifications and employment. Lay magistrates, otherwise known as Justice of the Peace sit in magistrate's courts, generally in groups of three, whereas judges usually sit alone. 1999 there were 90, of whom about 20% were women, whereas there are an almost equal number of men and women magistrates, showing that judges are not a mirror image of trial by ones peers such as lay people. Judges are members of the professional judiciary who are legally qualified and salaried, working…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    cja 344

    • 1286 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically criminals guilty, but who do not deserve punishment. It occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judge 's instructions as to the law. A jury verdict contrary to the letter of the law does not belong only to the particular case before it. If a pattern of acquittals, however, develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a statutory offense, it can have the de facto effect of invalidating the statute. A pattern of jury nullification may indicate public opposition to an unwanted legislative enactment. In the past, it was feared that may unduly influence a judge alone or a panel of public officials to follow established legal practice, even if such practice had drifted from its origins. In most modern Western legal systems, however, often instruct juries only serve as "finders of facts", whose role is to determine the veracity of the evidence, and the weight accorded to evidence, to implement these tests the law and reach a verdict, but not decide what the law is .…

    • 1286 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter 11 of Unfair “What We Must Overcome” our author tackles on three serious challenges we face in realizing science-based reforms. First, he addresses the approach our justice system has towards juror screenings and exactly how we are getting it wrong. Benforado suggest that these juror screening are intended to eliminate those people who cannot be fair if selected to be a jury in a criminal case. While we purpose to address this bias, our author suggest that we are instead,” reinforcing a false narrative oh what bias is, where it comes from and how it can be remedied. “(P.g. 240) Consequently, Benforado offers us an experience of his own with the juror selection process, which he and other jurors filled out a questionnaire. Moreover, if you indicated that you are more likely to the believe the testimony of a police officer, over the testimony of a normal person all you received was speech on why it was wrong. The judge would explain to you that” your job as a juror required you to treat every witness the same regardless of his or her position, race, gender or the like. (P.g.240) After…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when debating on what the biggest problems are not only in the justice system but also in the court system, many of them being seen throughout the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers. For instance, race seems to still be an issue in today’s justice system. One example on how race is a problem in the justice system is on the case of Clarence Brandley. Clarence was realized from jail after being wrongfully convicted and on death row for almost one decade as it states in the Montana Abolition Coalition article. Another problem in the justice system is the death penalty. One reason why the death penalty is a problem is because innocent people can be executed as it also states in the Montana Abolition Coalition article. One final problem out of the many is the the court system is actually the jury. For example as it is stated in the article jurs are supposed to be representative of our diverse community (Ladner,2000).…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During this paper I am going to be covering topics such as the courtroom work groups, the role of a prosecutor, the effects of the criminal justice funnel and the backlog of cases on the court system and the courtroom work group. Topics such as these are important to cover so that each individual has a complete understanding of the pros and cons of systems in the judicial system.…

    • 682 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    PSY328 final proposal

    • 1936 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Wrightsman, L. E., Kassin, S.M, Willis, C.E (Ed.). (1987). In the jury box: Controversies in…

    • 1936 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twelve Angry Men

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The American jury system, wherein citizens are judged by their peers, is one of the most democratic in the world. Nonetheless our system is far from perfect. There are many dangers in a system in which humans are asked to make decisions that could mean life or death for another person. Bias ranks amongst these dangers for it can affect the way jurors interpret testimonies and facts. Indifference is another factor; it too, can heavily affect a juror’s thinking. Personal feelings and experiences can stand in between a juror and the attainment of truth. The American jury system is intrinsically flawed in that it relies on intrinsically flawed humans to make life or death decisions…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    jurors (Sommers, 2007). As a result, the concerns and questions pertaining to the internal validity…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    juries

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Juries are considered to encompass a fundamental role of the criminal justice system, however , there are setbacks regarding their role in determining whether the accused is guilty or innocent. Juries are a representation of public confidence, as the right to be tried by peers has people confident that their impartiality and fairness does improve access to justice. Impartiality of the jury is supported by the process of random selection which usually result in a cross-section of society, therefore prejudices are…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    to be a new trial. Although the idea of jury nullification is beneficial to the society, problems…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jurors perform a key part in the American arrangement of equity. The assurance of our rights and freedoms is to a great extent accomplished through the collaboration of judge and jury who, cooperating in a typical exertion, put into practice the standards of our extraordinary legacy of flexibility. The judge decides the law to be connected in the case while the jury chooses the truths. Therefore, in an imperative manner, members of the jury turn into a piece of the court itself. The American criminal justice system is the arrangement of practices and organizations of governments steered at maintaining social control, dissuading and moderating wrongdoing, or authorizing the individuals who disregard laws with criminal punishments and restoration exertions.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Jury Selection

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jury selection are various methods used to decide who will be on the jury. The jury pool is initially chosen from among the community utilizing a random strategy. Jury records are gathered from voter enlistments and driver permit/state id. From these records, some people are mailed. They will be addressed in court by the judge and/or lawyers in the U.S. According to Shari Seidman, in some cases such as capital punishment, the jury must be death qualified. Jury procedures are taught in law institutions to law students. The jury chose is said to have been empanaled.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics