Most countries in the world today do not use juries, and only a small percentage of cases in the United States are decided by juries. So why exactly do Americans have juries? What role do they play in our system? And does it make sense for modern America? The jury system arose in England hundreds of years ago. If there was a crime in the community, the accused were brought to trial before a judge and a jury. The judge presided over the trial and served as a legal expert. The jury was a group of twelve men who were from the area where the crime was committed. The jury would then heard the evidence and then they would decide whether the accused was guilty or innocent. These days we ask ourselves if twelve ordinary citizens really reach the best decisions or are bench trials a better idea? Many say that the trial by jury is one of our sacred cows – meaning something that people don’t like to criticize- but many state that if we’d long had trial by judge in criminal cases and were to suggest that his reasoned and professional judgment as to facts and inferences should be replaced by the blanket verdict of pretty well any twelve men and women cramped together for a period of time the one would rightfully find this unjust. The role of the jury service is to encourage self-governance and civil participation, the ones who benefit from the jury service are ordinary citizens. What is important about the jury system is that it ensures the people ultimate control in the legislative and executive branch. Citizens can participate in the legislative and executive branches by exercising their right to vote, the only way that they can participate in the judicial branch of government is because the jury service has special role. The jury system allows ordinary citizens to participate in a government judicial process. They have the ultimate control in the legislative and executive branches.
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