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The importance of the jury system
The importance of the jury system
Social influence in social psychology
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Serving on a jury is a civic duty and an American tradition. However, some people view jury duty as a chore or as an event that negatively interrupts their lives. Some independent studies have shown that even jury duty has a devastating effect on married life. Due to this and other extraneous situations, there are only a few people who actually want to serve on a jury. This may lead to efforts by potential jurors to, in some way get out of their duty in a jury. What we know of as the current jury duty system should be changed so citizens are not forced to serve in this capacity and can still be regarded as a responsible civilian. As per the status quo, a trial jury is a constitutional right, a jury of ones peers or equals. However, ordinary people with little or no formal knowledge of the law should not be allowed to make a decision that would change a person's life.
In order to be seated as a juror, a variety of trial lawyers will ask questions to each perspective juror. If the juror seems to fit the profile of the "perfect juror," it is likely that in the current system that this person will sit on the jury. More often than it should, this means that because someone has the same beliefs as the trial lawyers, they will be selected because they will most likely be sympathetic to the correct client. Even though most of the time it is the evidence that convicts, the law should also be considered when jury reaches a verdict. It is a struggle to have Twelve people, with different personalities and beliefs come to a just vote for conviction or acquittal, especially with little to no background in the practice of law.
The current system has many unforeseen flaws. It is not the best. It is possible for jurors to lie so...
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...capable, cannot acquit himself of judging amiss." (John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding) In this quote, British poet John Locke expresses strong feelings also expressed in Matthew 7:1 of the Bible: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Although both are writing from slightly different viewpoints, and express their feelings in slightly different ways, they are expressing the common concern similar to many throughout the history of mankind. Each man's fate should not lie at the feet of another man's opinion. All of history must answer for the actions surround decisions made, good and bad, that effects the lives of those closest to these choices. This punishment or reward will so far surpass any manmade idea of correctional auctions. Take heed, and understand the consequences of all auctions. Every choice has a consequence. What will yours be?
There are quite a few specific factors that affect whether the minority can influence the majority’s opinion. For example, when Juror #9 becomes an ally of support for Juror #8 in his defection from the majority consensus. Although Juror #8 may have started with only one ally, gradually he gained support from other jury members. Another important factor in the power of minority influence (Myers, 298) is the consistency of the viewpoint. Juror #8 never ‘flip-flops’, proponents of the minority position must stand firm against the pressure to conform. Even when Juror #8 is taunted by his fellow jurors after voting not-guilty in the initial vote he stands firm on his position and resists the pressure to conform. Furthermore, high self-confidence and self-assurance improves the position of the minority. Juror #8 presented firm and forceful arguments without being overbearing. He justifies his not-guilty vote by saying, “I just think we owe him a few words, that's all.” In the film, there is also a point in the discussion where Juror #6 defends those who voted not-guilty from the bullying, shouting, and name-calling from the other jurors. Throughout the film, Juror #3 is a bully, a specific example of insulting nature it seen in the film when another not-guilty ballot is received and he attacks Juror #5. He shouts, “Brother, you really are somethin'. You sit here vote guilty like the rest of us, then some golden-voiced preacher starts tearing your poor heart out about some underprivileged kid, just couldn't help becoming a murderer, and you change your vote. Well, if that isn't the most sickening - *why don't you drop a quarter in his collection box?” his criticisms of the other jurors does not sway people to his side. In reality, when a minority gathers strength people feel freer to think outside the box without the fear
Beverly, I am also a proponent of the United States developing a system of professional jurors. I also believe it would cut down on biased opinions and help rebuild people’s faith in our criminal justice system. In addition to the points you made, I believe professional jurors also would alleviate the process of the prosecution and defense counsel being able to stack the jury pool with individuals favorable to them. Although the U.S. is a country that is for the people, many citizens don’t want to set on a panel of jurors to determine the fate of an individual they do not know (Weigman, 2011). The main reasons for this is because, it causes them to be pulled away from their livelihoods, which for many encompasses work and family. Lastly,
There are hundreds of Americans who are selected for jury duty every day. Just like the characters many of them believe jury duty is a major conflict in their lives. They may say they do not have time to participate, which may be true, but the law will make sure you have time. As always, life and time keep going, and nobody wants to miss it. No one prefers to sit in court when they can be doing something productive but it is not going to kill them. Everyone deserves to have a jury hear them and surely they would want that for themselves.
The American Jury system has been around for quite some time. It was the original idea that the framers of the constitution had wanted to have implemented as a means of trying people for their illegal acts, or for civil disputes. The jury system has stood the test of time as being very effective and useful for the justice system. Now it has come into question as to if the jury system is still the best method for trials. In the justice system there are two forms of trials, one being the standard jury trial, where 12 random members of society come together to decide the outcome of something. The other option would be to have a bench trial. In a bench trial, the judge is the only one deciding the fate of the accused. While both methods are viable
Mention the pros and cons of our jury system and possible alternatives of it. Also, identify the group dynamics of the jury members
We are all different. We are all at least biased on one topic. Some people just look at the surface, while others dig deeper into the facts that were given. Reginald Rose demonstrated these points beautifully in 12 Angry Men. All of the Jurors bring a special part of their personality to the jury room, which is the beauty of having a jury. All of the jurors are different in their own unique way,
In America, every individual has the right to a fair trial, but how fair is the trial? When an individual is on trial, his or her life is on the line, which is decided by twelve strangers. However, who is to say that these individuals take their role seriously and are going to think critically about the case? Unfortunately, there is no way to monitor the true intentions of these individuals and what they feel or believe. In the movie, Twelve Angry Men, out of the twelve jurors’ only one was willing to make a stance against the others, even though the evidence seemed plausible against the defendant. Nevertheless, the justice system is crucial; however, it is needs be reformed.
In the United States, jury trials are an important part of our court system. We rely heavily on the jury to decide the fate of the accused. We don’t give a second thought to having a jury trial now, but they were not always the ‘norm’.
The book Acquittal by Richard Gabriel states, “juries are the best judges in the system. They are not elected, they don't have the high-powered microscope of appellate review or the stern, disapproving-schoolmarm precedent looking over their shoulder, and they have no interest in the outcome of the case.” For this reason, we can come to the conclusion that the use of juries in a trial is the best for all involved in the legal system. While juries, “are the best judges in the system”, lawyers, jury consultants, and jury scientists are the reasons they are viewed this way. It is their job to make sure that not only their client, but everyone has a fair and unbiased trial.Making sure that “the best judges in the system” are fair and unbiased takes a lot of planning, research, and effort. You must research the jurors, understand how they think, what their morals are, and how they would view this case. “It is a constructed reality, cobbled together by shifting memories of witnesses, attorney arguments, legal instructions, personal experiences, and beliefs of jurors.”(Gabriel
A jury is a panel of citizens, selected randomly from the electoral role, whose job it is to determine guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented. The Jury Act 1977 (NSW) stipulates the purpose of juries and some of the legal aspects, such as verdicts and the right of the defence and prosecution to challenge jurors. The jury system is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society as members of the community ultimately decide whether the person is guilty or innocent. The creation of the Jury Amendment Act 2006 (NSW) enabled the criminal trial process to better represent the standards of society as it allowed majority verdicts of 11-1 or 10-2, which also allowed the courts to be more resource efficient. Majority verdicts still ensure that a just outcome is reached as they are only used if there is a hung jury and there has been considerable deliberation. However, the role of the media is often criticized in relation to ensuring that the jurors remain unbiased as highlighted in the media article “Independent Juries” (SMH, 2001), and the wide reporting of R v Gittany 2013 supports the arguments raised in the media article. Hence, the jury system is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society, as it resource efficient and achieves just outcomes, but the influence of the media reduces the effectiveness.
Some of the people in the world always ask themselves this question when in the court room “ WHY DID OUR FOUNDING FATHERS EXPECT CITIZEN JURIES TO JUDGE OUR LAWS AS WELL AS THE GUILT OF THE INDIVIDUAL ?” Well the answer is really simple its Because: "If a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states then that juror has accepted the exercise of absolute authority of a government employee and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizen's safeguard of liberty." (1788) (2 Elliots Debates, 94, Bancroft, History of the Constitution, 267) "Jury nullification of law", as it is sometimes called, is a traditional American right defended by the Founding Fathers. Those Patriots intended the jury serve as one of the tests a law must pass before it assumes enough popular authority to be enforced. Thus the Constitution provides five separate tribunals with veto power -- representatives, senate, executive, judges and jury -- that each enactment of law must pass before it gains the authority to punish those who choose to violate it.
“Is the jury system still a good idea?” Is a question heavily discussed among all people. No, the jury system is no longer a good idea for trying cases. To begin with, the act of juror selection is tricky and can heavily sway the verdict. There are too many issues such as personal beliefs, personal experiences and mental health. Second ,those selected are subjected to unfavorable conditions such as confinement, time constraints and having to reach a unanimous verdict. And lastly, maintaining an untainted jury is becoming more difficult because of resources like television, newspapers and internet.
This trial is known for the first use of jury consultants. The 2 brothers were blamed of plotting to plan a brutal manifestations against the Vietnam War. The defense attorneys determined that in order to have the most excellent jury possible they should survey people. They need qualified people as jurors. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is the site of the trial. The reason of polling was to decide which probability groups would likely be concerned about their clients. In a suitable way, the defense was very favorable in having a jury selected that expressed by blue collar workers who would likely not have graduated from college. There are two kinds of techniques jury consultants use they are pretrial research and they do when the trial takes place. The effortless research is this category is mental outlook surveys administered in phone or in person, this was done in the Berrigan trial. [Use of Jury Consultants. (n.d.)]. Another example of a jury consultant or trial consultant would the Casey Anthony case. The trial consultant (Richard Gabriel) had his hands full. He managed a community mental outlook survey to evaluate public assumptions about the case. He wanted to determine what type of juror might open-minded enough to consult a dissimilar outlook on Anthony’s crime. The jury consultant was trying to find jurors that wasn’t biased. They wanted to seek jurors who would set aside their emotions and reason rationally. They wanted the jurors to conscientiously attend to the judge’s directions about the appropriate rules and laws. [Greene, E., & Heilbrun, K. (2013), pg 284]. Another example of a jury consultant would be in the O.J. Simpson trial. The defense team for the Simpson trial has hired a jury consultant to design a questionnaire and to help on selecting a jury favorable to Mr. Simpson. [Simpson Defense Team Hires Jury Consultant. (1994, August 10)]. The jury consultant will prepare
We are very fortunate to live in a country where democracy is how we conduct our way of life. One of the great advantages of living here is that if someone is convicted of a crime that innocent until proven guilty. The hope and mission of our judicial system is to correctly convict the people who actually committed the crime. To prove their guilt while also making sure we are not convicting an innocent person. However, our system is not perfect and there are some chinks in our armor. Unfortunately, since jurors are just people and not computers or machines mistakes can be made. When putting your life in another person’s hands such as a juror you hope for the best, but that is not always enough. Sometimes there are certain variables, which
Jury duty is a civic duty meaning that it is required to be completed by a selected individual. Jury duty is used to ensure that justice is done throughout each city. Although justice is important to be served, those that are chosen to serve jury duty are forced to miss work and many local jobs do not provide pay for this missing day or days. Failure to appear for jury duty without a legit excuse will result in licit punishment. Obeying the law is also a civic duty which is pretty much common sense because the better our society follow the rules, the more civilized and productive our communities could be.