To answer the debate on whether to not use a jury in criminal case I turned to the internet to research the topic closer. Instinctually, I think that it would be a good idea to move to a judge trial. In my research, I have definitely made up my mind that this is the best way to go to solve a number of issues that currently are occurring in our judicial system. In the internet article on www.businessinsider.com (America should get rid of the jury trial) was very informative to me in reaching my decision. South Africa banned jury trials in 1969. The main reason behind this is the lack of willing people to serve as well as the odds of racial profiling. In America I do not think it is so much a racial profiling issue as it is that the judicial system is so complicated that the majority of people that would be called to jury duty simply do not have the intelligence or legal knowledge to decipher a large portion of the information and the idiosyncrasies of the law. Law professor Peter Van Koppen explained why this is such an issue stating that jurors often have to decide “technical issues beyond their aptitude.” I was unaware that the jury trial began in King Henry II time to settle land disputes. When the American Colonies where formed the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution ensures the right of the accused to not only have a speedy trial, but to have a jury of impartial people to oversee the process. This may have been a very useful tool in the days of a simpler time. Crimes were of a simple straight forward nature. The decision process was not drawn out, testimony was eye witness, and deliberation did not last long. The consequences at this time were swift and severe. This made the process much more of a deterrence to people when they thought of committing crimes. Fast-forwarding to the modern and much more complex legal system there is many arguments that would make doing away with jury trials a viable as well as responsible thing to do. First and foremost, the attention crime receives makes it virtually impossible for people to not be aware of the crime in some way or form. With news media, social media like Face book, twitter and Instagram make literally everyone with access to information. Along with that, communities are not small and simpler as days past. This is making it increasingly difficult to sit a jury that has the capacity to ensure that all of the courts requests will be met in their service. Most people work full time, causing huge difficulties if they were to be called to jury duty. Single parents may simply not be able to afford to serve as the stipend that you receive from the court is only a fraction of what you would be making if you went to work that day.
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The most famous case of this is O.J.Simpson murder trial in which opening statements were on January 24, 1995 to a verdict on October 3, 1995. One must believe with the massive amounts of evidence that the prosecution introduced in this trial would have resulted in a guilty verdict if it was heard by a judge only trial. I cannot help but think about all of the subsequent legal issues and proven guilty verdicts that have occurred and the pain and suffering at his hands other women have endured because of that mistake the jury made on
The most famous case of this is O.J.Simpson murder trial in which opening statements were on January 24, 1995 to a verdict on October 3, 1995. One must believe with the massive amounts of evidence that the prosecution introduced in this trial would have resulted in a guilty verdict if it was heard by a judge only trial. I cannot help but think about all of the subsequent legal issues and proven guilty verdicts that have occurred and the pain and suffering at his hands other women have endured because of that mistake the jury made on