Judge Ritholtz saw were of a commercial nature. Most tended to be non-serious car accidents. These cases traditionally would come in droves and would be completed quickly as well. Most were decided via a Summary Jury Trial, which essentially serves as a precursor to a real trial. The Summary Jury Trial is meant to encourage settlement. The testimony is delivered before a…
“May it please the court, your honor, opposing council, members of the jury - an impossible burden means an impossible conviction,” Sophomore Lora Randa said to a crowd of people gathered in a courtroom in Eau Claire on Feb. 11. Tension and competition filled the room as she continued to tell the story of an innocent girl being accused of first degree reckless homicide. Randa is a dedicated member of the school’s Mock Trial team and is the attorney that closes the case for the defence. “The…
Operation of Jury Trials By Runi Latham What is a jury? The jury is the tribunal of fact, made up of 12 adult citizens whom are selected randomly from the electoral role in accord with the requirements of the Jury Act 1977 (NSW). This process is called empanelling. The role of the jury is to consider the evidence presented during an indictable trial and then determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty based upon the evidence presented at trial. The jury’s decision may be challenged…
The jury system came to Canada by the British settlers in the mid-1700s and is composed of 12 representatives of the community to provide judgment by peers (v+n). “The purpose of a trial is to answer the question of who did what to whom and whether such conduct is legal” (v+n). The jury acts as adjudicators and are called triers of facts that serve the purpose of listening to evidence and facts presented in court in order to decide who did what to whom and if such conduct was legal, out of the…
The jury system is a cross section in to society thus reflecting on the values and attitudes of society however some people are exempt from severing so it can be argued that it not a true cross section of society. Another benefit of having a jury system is that the final decision is made by more than one person, although it is argued that an ordinary citizen may not understand the legal technicalities presented to them or they can be easily persuaded by a clever lawyers. The jury system has…
There are two types of juries that are used in federal court proceedings and trials. The jury of a court can either be a grand jury or a trial jury. Said juries are used in a variety of ways and under certain conditions. The grand jury decides whether there was enough probable cause to send the suspect to trial. If the grand jury decided that indeed there was a sufficient amount of incriminating evidence that could prove the guilt of the suspect, the arrestee is then indicted and taken to…
The grand jury originated in 1166, when King Henry II of England, issued the Assize of Clarendon (McSweeney, 2014). The Assize of Clarendon instructed that twelve “good and lawful” men of the community should be periodically convened, under oath, to act as investigatory agents of the monarch (McSweeney, 2014). These investigatory agents came to be known as jurors. Previous to the enactment of the Assize Clarendon, the Catholic Church and nobility decided criminal cases via “trial by ordeal or…
Over the years, the role and the responsibility of the jury have been through numerous transformations, hence these improvements made the presence of jury trials a highly controversial topic, leading to the question ‘Are juries needed in the English legal system?’. This essay aims to argue this question from different perspectives. It will first describe the evolution of the jury system and their current role in UK justice. Then, it will go through to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of…
The key topic that is under debate throughout this paper is jury nullification and how its procedures work within the justice system, as well as some of its strengths and weaknesses. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding jury nullification being used as a primary rectification in the justice system as it tends to make equal outcomes become unequal outcomes. Jury nullification is a process in which a jury reaches a verdict of not guilty despite the fact that the defendant is actually…
group of their peers. Most juries hear testimony, and render a verdict of guilt or innocence, based on evidence and how that evidence violates the established law. Jurors, also possesses the ability nullify a case, if they deem the respective violated law to be unfair. When considering the magnitude of power the ability to nullify places in the hands of twelve randomly selected people, one must consider; whether or not juries should possess the ability to use power of jury nullification. This…