A jury trial or trial by jury, is a lawful proceeding in which a jury makes a decision which then direct the actions of a judge. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge all decisions. A jury is made up of twelve men or women, who have pledge to the judge to base a case only on the evidence presented in court. But does jury always base a case on only the evidence presented? Is a jury trial the best alternative to a bench trial? Should we do still have the option of a jury trial? There
Jury Trial The history of jury trial dates back many centuries in which time the role and status of jury members have changed considerably as have the number and range of cases tried by the jury system. A major milestone in the history of juries was in Bushell's Case (1670), that established that the juries were the sole judges of fact, with the right to give a verdict according to conscience. They could not be penalized for taking a view of the facts opposed to that of the judge. The importance
Trial by jury is a process in which the defendant is being put on trial in the Crown Court by a group of individuals who share the same social class, also known as “peers” (Joyce, 2012). According to the Juries Act (1974) to take part in jury service you have to be between the ages of 18 and 65 and have been living in the United Kingdom for at least five years. The role of the jury is to sit in the courtroom with the defendant and prosecutor and observe the proceedings in order to come to a judgement
Trial by Jury and Alternatives to It In order to decide whether or not trial by jury should or should not be abolished, we need to know what it is that we are dealing with and what viable alternative or alternatives there are to it. I will take a brief look at the history of the jury trial. I will examine the function of the jury; look at what is good and bad
back in 1066 and till today, the English common law had significantly innovated and evolved its jury system for a better English Legal System. Early jurors initially acted as witnesses of sources of information but they gradually became adjudicators and further ruminating evidence where a juror should know the utmost minimum about the facts of the case before a trial, in which is the stand today. Jury service is a legally recognised civic duty for all the people in the UK and many other countries
A jury trial is not to be confused with a bench trial as it often times is. While a bench trial takes places only in front of a Judge who is then tasked with coming to a verdict on his/her own, a jury trial is one that is “composed of members of the community present at the trial to act as the finder of fact” (McGuigan, 2014). The constitutional trial rights that are sanctioned throughout a jury trial is called a trial by jury. This is in the sixth amendment which says that everyone has the right
Jury trial is a successfully established system which has a history of more than 800 years. Juries are the driving force of the criminal justice system as they ensure that the system works for the welfare of the society. Equally important, juries reflect the opinion which is generally accepted by the public. It is said, that jury trial, as well as having advantages also has drawbacks. This essay will critically discuss the advantage and disadvantage of jury trial, including cases as an example
Judges, prosecutors, defense council and juries are the focal point of a trial. The following will show each of their roles in the courtroom and the importance of these roles and how they are perceived by the media compared to my own view. Judges preside over criminal and non-criminal proceeding as an impartial party to the evidence and arguments presented by the defense and prosecuting attorneys. His or her role as a judge in a jury trial is to act as a mediator between the defense and prosecution
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact which then direct the actions of the Judge. The jury trial has been traced back many times with different findings each time. However, for my research I could trace it back as far as Ancient Greece. In 350 BCE Aristotle first described the Athenian jury system. In Aristotle’s description jurors are selected at random and assigned at last minute, then drops their ballot in one out of two jars after hearing both
The jury plays a crucial role in the courts of trial. They are an integral part in the Australian justice system. The jury system brings ordinary people into the courts everyday to judge whether a case is guilty or innocent. The role of the jury varies, depending on the different cases. In Australia, the court is ran by an adversary system. In this system “..individual litigants play a central part, initiating court action and largely determining the issues in dispute” (Ellis 2013, p. 133). In this
Trial by Jury was first introduced during the reign of King Henry II as a mechanism to uncover the King’s rights, but it wasn’t until King Henry III that the jury was molded into a body of witnesses to call on their knowledge. Presently, our jury system is a body of witnesses that determine the guilt or innocence grounded upon a presentation of facts and evidence. The current structure of trial by jury is not sufficiently democratic. Jury panels are not selected democratically, but instead are chosen
has been seen in a typical jury trial. For the jury trials that have been held in Germany and only in a certain of the more serious criminal cases(Strafgesetzbuch, section 80). There are, therefore, have comparatively with the few jury trials, with the fact which probably will have accounts for the paucity of the hard and the fast rules of the evidence in the German law. For Professor Thayer who has long pointed out, (Thayer, page 2) "It is this institution of the jury which the accounts are for
Medea's lived Colchis, which is an island in the Black Sea, and the Greeks considered it as the "edge of the earth" and a "territory of barbarians". Medea is a sorceress and also a princess, she used her powers to help Jason secure the Golden Fleece, she then ended up falling in love with him, and left with Jason to live in Lolcus. Medea was a loyal wife and her and Jason have two children together. Jason betrays Medea and marry's another woman who is daughter of Creon, the King of Corinth. Jason's
We the jury find the defendant, Not Guilty! Today is the last day of the trial. We have heard all of the witnesses and now we know that we must deliberate. I know that some of the “witnesses” are liars. Some make valid points and I know without a doubt in my mind that Captain Preston is an innocent man and that his men were provoked. As I listened to the witnesses, here is what I came to believe: The witnesses for the prosecution have very different stories as do some of the witnesses for the defense
not use juries, and only a small percentage of cases in the United States are decided by juries. So it has been proven successful and holding trials without juries are certainly a possibility for our future. In may in fact be in society’s best interest to change or rather improve a system that is outdated and doesn’t always serve the people justice. A person has a right to choose between a jury of his peers of a bench (judge only) trial. It’s likely that citizens may prefer a jury trial as they may
have trial by jury is an easy and simple right letting someone to be able to choose to have their fate be decide by a group of people with having different opinions from different minds letting them have a better chance of finding out the truth, because people have different perspectives in what they see. Which is also a very important right to the freedom we have and to our country. In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall
Why the Right to a Jury Trial is Important The right to a jury trial is important because of many things. One of the reasons it’s so important is because everything that the court does affects everyday people. If the right to a jury trial wasn’t important, then bad people would be on the streets and doing bad things. So, my class and I are going to explain some things that may prove that a right to a jury trial is important. Citizens should serve on juries because the work done by courts affects
The jury system has in the past been described as ‘the jewel in the crown” or “the cornerstone” of the British criminal justice system by Lord Justice Auld in his book ‘Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales’. Trial by jury is an ancient and democratic institution (Jury Under Attack). It will be seen later that it is a declining one, particularly DUE TO CONTEMPT OF COURT, A … Peter Carey, in his book, Media Law (2010) defines contempt of court refers to the courts ability to publish any
The jury system is essentially a descendant of Great Britain, the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Colonialism played a significant role in the development of the jury system globally. However, despite colonial influence, judicial systems across the world have taken their own way. As a result, the jury system has developed and changed to suit the needs and social conscience of different countries. Across the world, juries examine and decide the facts in a jury trial, the accuracy of the testimony,
Having a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of ones peers is a constitutional right given to all in the United States (U.S. Const. amend VI). Jurors are chosen for their ability JURY DECISION MAKING !54 to be unbiased. Both the prosecution and the defense have a hand in choosing jurors. Where one side may be in favor of a sympathetic mother of three the other may choose to select another juror in order to provide the best chance possible for their side of the argument. The process of being