The Role Of The Jury In The Criminal Justice System
In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. These groups include the police who investigate the crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. When there is a trial, a selective number of individuals are called before the court known as the jury. It is not only the right and duty of juries to judge the facts, but also what is the law. To ultimately determine a verdict, the jury must take all information into consideration plus the moral intent of the accused
In the legal justice system of the United States, there are many perks or benefits such as being in the jury, or what I call the lucky 12. For example, being a part of the jury takes away overall authority from
one person such as the judge. With this benefit, there will not only be less corruption inside the court room; but the trial will be more fair due to interpretations of the jury. Some people think that trial by jury is more fair than a judge because the jury is independent and therefore could not be influenced by the government. A jury verdict can be carried on a unanimous decision or on a majority decision as long as it is 11:1 or 10:2 and no less, a judge will not accept 9:3 decision, and the jury will be made to go back and deliberate more until they reach a unanimous or a majority verdict
The jury system can not only benefit our legal system, but hinder it as well because there is always to sides of a coin. For instance, the jury has been a long established part of the United States legal system for centuries. It consists of 12 people who represent a cross section of the public. They hear a case and then decide a verdict, based on fact, not law. Basing everything on facts can simply imply that "the law" is not an important factor in our court room . Such an action might result in more crimes because "the law" may not seem as important.
Being a human being, we are capeable of being persuaded into considerating options that we will not normally think about. In fact, being part of the jury is a prime example. For instance, within the jury there might have a lot of people that don't care or even feel relenless primerally because they are away from their job. Opinions may be bias as a result of past experience, mood or even religious belief. Last but not least, the jury can also be swayed as a result of bargins involving money as shown in the film entitled "Runaway Jury" by director Gary Fleder.
As we have seen the jury is, if not one of the main components in the court room primerally because they determine the outcome. For example, if you can recall the court case of Scott Peterson who was trialed for murder of his wife Laci Peterson, then you will see the importance of the jury. On November 12, 2004, Redwood City jurors returned a verdict declaring Scott Peterson Guilty of the first degree murder of Laci Peterson and the second degree murder of Conner Peterson (their unborn sun). Overall, I believe that the verdict the jury made was the right decision because the family of Laci Peterson was given the opportunity to have justice not only in their lives; but the legal system of the United States.
In the legal justice system of the United States, there are many perks or benefits such as being in the jury, or what I call the lucky 12. For example, being a part of the jury takes away overall authority from
one person such as the judge. With this benefit, there will not only be less corruption inside the court room; but the trial will be more fair due to interpretations of the jury. Some people think that trial by jury is more fair than a judge because the jury is independent and therefore could not be influenced by the government. A jury verdict can be carried on a unanimous decision or on a majority decision as long as it is 11:1 or 10:2 and no less, a judge will not accept 9:3 decision, and the jury will be made to go back and deliberate more until they reach a unanimous or a majority verdict
The jury system can not only benefit our legal system, but hinder it as well because there is always to sides of a coin. For instance, the jury has been a long established part of the United States legal system for centuries. It consists of 12 people who represent a cross section of the public. They hear a case and then decide a verdict, based on fact, not law. Basing everything on facts can simply imply that "the law" is not an important factor in our court room . Such an action might result in more crimes because "the law" may not seem as important.
Being a human being, we are capeable of being persuaded into considerating options that we will not normally think about. In fact, being part of the jury is a prime example. For instance, within the jury there might have a lot of people that don't care or even feel relenless primerally because they are away from their job. Opinions may be bias as a result of past experience, mood or even religious belief. Last but not least, the jury can also be swayed as a result of bargins involving money as shown in the film entitled "Runaway Jury" by director Gary Fleder.
As we have seen the jury is, if not one of the main components in the court room primerally because they determine the outcome. For example, if you can recall the court case of Scott Peterson who was trialed for murder of his wife Laci Peterson, then you will see the importance of the jury. On November 12, 2004, Redwood City jurors returned a verdict declaring Scott Peterson Guilty of the first degree murder of Laci Peterson and the second degree murder of Conner Peterson (their unborn sun). Overall, I believe that the verdict the jury made was the right decision because the family of Laci Peterson was given the opportunity to have justice not only in their lives; but the legal system of the United States.