Preview

Jury System Changes In American Government

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
448 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jury System Changes In American Government
Overtime, a lot has changed in the American government. One of these changes is the introduction of the jury system. Ever since the introduction of the jury system, the judicial branch has changed. But the question is, is this change worth it? is it a good idea? The jury system is simply a system in which the verdict in a legal case is decided by a group of twelve regular citizens(the jurors). A lot of questions have been asked about the validity and importance of the jury system. I think the jury system is not a good idea and should therefore be removed because the jurors sometimes do not consider or even understand the evidence provides. They often let their personal feelings affect their verdict, or base it on unreasonable factors, and

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

    This is why the film Twelve Angry Men suggest that The United States Judicial system is very unfair to the person being tried because they don't check into the juror members enough which can lead to a very unfair jury…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are various problems inherent in the current death penalty system. The system is broken. The death penalty should find more effective ways to determine guilt. If not, the killing of innocent people will continue. The first aspect that should be changed is the selection and biasness of the jury, especially racial bias in jury selection. The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids the government from imposing "cruel and unusual punishments”. The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, especial to ones that are innocent. They ultimately die in…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict that is the opposite of what the jury believes or the verdict it was instructed to return by the court” (Rottenstein Law Group, 2014). In the course of a regular criminal trial, the judge will hand down some directives to the jury. The judge will inform the jury that they should set aside any feelings that they may take personal and achieve a decision exclusively in light of the truth displayed at trial. However, juries overlook these directions and clear criminals who plainly disobeyed the law. Current lawful guidelines firmly disapproval jury nullification and restrict encouragements for a jury panel to nullify the law. Therefore, a legal counselor may not, even with the within the…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The role the jury trial plays in criminal cases is fundamental to the American scheme of justice.1 The right to a jury trial is rooted in our legal tradition2 and is articulated in the U.S. Constitution.3 This protection extends back to British common law, and serves as a check against government oppression by ensuring that a defendant’s fate lies in the hands of a jury of ordinary citizens rather than the government’s prosecutor or judge.4 Coupled with the presumption of innocence, the right to a jury trial serves as a “cornerstone of Anglo-Saxon justice”5 that limits potential government tyranny. At the heart of jury trial protections and the presumption of innocence lies the concern that it is better to let a guilty man go free than to convict an innocent man.6…

    • 8780 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jury Nullification CJA 344 October 6, 2014 Johnny Cotton Jury nullification is defined as when juries believe a case is unjust or wrong and may set free a defendant who violated the law. Jury nullification has been an option of a jury in the United States. In the legal system that we use today, jurors have the power to give a non-guilty verdict even when the evidence clearly shows that the defendant is guilty. In cases like this, the jurors decide that the certain laws should not be applied to the particular case or that the laws are unjust for the case. In other cases the jurors may believe that the laws are certainly bias against the defendant to begin with. The 14th amendment in our Constitution promises that all persons no matter race,…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Juries are a fundamental institution within Canadian law and decide a large portion of important cases, changing many lives. Considering that a jury is simply a group of citizens who appeared to be the right fit for jury duty on a list, do we place too much power in their hands? This paper looks at the jury’s power of nullification and why it should or should not continue to be a part of the Canadian justice system and if it should, how can we improve it? Drawing on real cases and scholarly journals this paper will attempt to address some major points on this issue. First of all, what exactly is jury nullification and how is it used in Canadian courts? Also what are the strengths and weaknesses of nullification and how have we seen these in…

    • 2637 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    If life truly is what you or we the people make it than we are all guilty of negligence and selfish immaturity. The existence of our civil liberty is under constant threat and that is something that should never be allowed to go on with such neglect. Laws should not only protect the rights, freedoms, and safety of the people but also should enhance the civil liberty of those who are expected to uphold such laws. This is why we have a jury and this is why the jury possesses the power of responsibility to protect civil liberty at all costs. The handbook for trial jurors serving in the United States District Courts clearly states and touches on the importance of jury service. It says that jurors maintain a vital role in our justice system and the protection of our rights and liberties is largely achieved through the teamwork of judge and jury who, working together in a common effort, put into practice the principles of our great heritage of freedom. It also goes on to say the judge determines the law to be applied in the case while the jury decides the facts. Thus, in a very important way, jurors become a part of the court itself. Jurors must be men and women possessed of sound judgment, absolute honesty, and a complete sense of fairness. Jury service is a high duty of citizenship. Jurors aid in the maintenance of law and order and uphold justice among their fellow citizens. In addition to determining and adjusting property rights, jurors may also be asked to decide questions involving a crime for which a person may be fined, placed on probation, or confined in prison. In a very real sense, therefore, the people must rely upon jurors…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "[The Judicial Branch] may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment” Hamilton explained when analyzing the Judiciary’s initial intent. Article 3 section 1 of the Constitution grants the Supreme court “The judicial Power of the United States.” this power can be given to inferior courts such as circuit and district courts as “Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Later, in article 3 section 2, the Judicial branch is granted power that “extend[s] to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority.” The Judicial branch has explicit power to interpret the intent of past laws, treaties made, and…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jury Trial Research Paper

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The advantage of having a trial by jury allows a sort of "second trial." For example, in the movie Twelve Angry Men, every single jury member voted guilty, except for one. The other eleven men demanded his reasons for voting Not Guilty, and he gave them. In the end, they voted Not Guilty unanimously. Now, the defendant in question was charged with murder, to which the penalty was death by electrocution. However, the evidence, which most of the jury members did not question, was not as sound as they thought, and the man that voted Not guilty showed them that. If the defendant hadn't had a jury, then he would have been sentenced to death, whether he was guilty or not, due to the meager and circumstantial evidence…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnicity plays a big role in courtroom proceedings as well as judicial practices from all parts of the criminal justice system. It is anywhere from the initial intake of a person to the time the person is sentenced. Everyone involved in the proceeding has to perform certain duties to their highest ability and they have to be fair to everyone that is involved in the court proceedings. If a person is a different race or gender it may not always be the case that the people have to be fair or perform certain duties. There is statistical research that has proven in the past twenty years that there is a…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good 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

    “Look up in the sky, it a bird, it a plane,” no it’s a drone delivering your Summons for Jury Duty. No, relax, Jury Summons are not being delivered by drones yet. However, just imagine the reaction of people if they were. Their first response would probably be to find an excuse to get out of it. But little do they know, our future depends on good and honest people providing service by making an informed decision. Serving as a juror is extremely important. For example, it is our civic duty, it gives the defendant a fair trial, it provides knowledge on how the court system operates, and it is one of the few constitutional obligations.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This puts the power into a mass collective of people instead of one leader. The guarantee of a trial also ensures that people cannot be put in jail without first getting to plead their case. Our judicial system requires that you are innocent until proven guilty, and having a large jury ensures that one person cannot be the one who dictates your fate. One example of why this is so effective can be seen by taking a look at colonial America. When provided a jury at his case, John Adams proved that British soldiers were not guilty of murder. This was shocking. Although these soldiers were hated by the people and the judges of the town, the jury proved them not guilty. This scenario may have panned out differently if only one leader was to decide their fate. By providing people with a jury, this separates power unto a group of people to eliminate any chance of…

    • 535 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