Arguments Against Jury Nullification

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Jury The mock trial conducted in class on the 27th of September was between Pedler vs the crown. In a real trial a jury is meant to entail a large cross section of the community where members of the public are randomly selected on the electoral roll. For this case I participated in the jury it was evident that the there were both strength and weakness to the system. A strength of the jury system that was shown is the attentiveness they showed during the trial despite a few time it was clear most people took there time to analyse and think about the case to make a clear decision.

I think that I would like to be on a jury and experience what is required of a juror, I think everyone should be a member of the jury at least once in their lifetime. Having to experience the juries’ duties on a civil or criminal case, in some instance would be hard. Especially in a murder case involving children or battered women. When the judge gives you direction to please disregard that statement. How can you disregard information that you have heard?

The jury system has existed for almost 1000 years dating back to the Norman Conquest of 1066. The first jurors acted as witnesses and gave an account of their knowledge and information about cases, however this has evolved and jurors are now the deciders of facts in both civil and criminal cases. In the UK, the jury consists of 12 members of the public, however in other countries this may differ. Statistics show that less than 1% of criminal cases are tried by juries, while 95% of criminal cases are dealt by the magistrates’ courts. Serving on jury is compulsory for those who are qualified and meet the criteria for the jury service.

a reasonable doubt. After the closing arguments from both the prosecution and defense attorney, the jury will deliberate. Jury deliberation takes place in seclusion, and jury instructions from the judge will be made clear, any evidence will be reviewed, testimony and witness credibility will be taken into consideration, as well as the charges. Subsequently, the jury will reach a verdict and the judge, defendants, prosecution attorney, defense attorney, and accused will reconvene in the courtroom for the verdict to be read aloud by the jury foreman (Gaines and Miller, 2011, p.189). Once the verdict has been read, the trial process has concluded.

Good Afternoon your honor, I am filing a motion for the admissibility of Cameron Awbrey’s statement because there is clear signs of attenuation between the statement given and the arrest. I will prove my case by providing examples of precedent cases similar to the laws involved in Cameron's case. In the precedent case Utah v. Strieff, the accused was survallinced over a short period of time, was subjected to an unlawful stop and arrest but later received a lawful arrest. The question was whether or not the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine applied, which excludes evidence that is gained from an unlawful search or seizure.

Trial by Jury Everyone has the right to a trial by jury is a practice that the United States adapted from England common law. The United States Constitution guarantees the right to trial by jury for most criminal and many civil offenses.

Introduction The quote The quote cited by Antoine reflected the attitude towards the concept of trial by jury prior to the 20th century. The view then, was that the jury system was believed to be an inviolable right; one of the chief safeguards of rights against the abuse of judicial power . Lord Devlin in the Hamlyn Lectures stated, “it is impossible to understand any English institution of any antiquity unless you know something of its history” .

After the adoption of the Bill of Rights, states started to describe variable "degrees" of homicide. During this time states also nullified public executions; Pennsylvania was the first state to start using private executions in 1834." ' After Eleven years, all state in New England had nullified public executions. Also during this time, it was that courts granted discretion in passing judgment to the jury, even though the roots of this development are indistinct.

The Supreme Court recently began hearing oral arguments in a case, where two men were convicted of bribery by a jury. However, that conviction was overturned by an appeal because the jury had been improperly instructed as to what constitutes a guilty verdict. The attorney for the defense, Lisa Blatt said, “The government should bear the consequences when overlapping charges produce split verdicts of acquittals and invalid convictions.” This quote identifies with one of the fundamental principles of the American legal system, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. While Blatt continues to argue that the vacated conviction is worthless.

areas in sociology and if this work is pushed to the forefront in legal sociology, it will be less for the sound knowledge it can offer than for the opportunity it presents to apply sophisticated research technique. [ Selznick, 1959. 119-120]. Close examination even of the products of the jury studies reveals that far less was achieved than had been anticipated and planned. The Kalven-Zeisel study of the American Jury is, of course, the centerpiece of the effort, and it exemplifies the division of labor between social scientists and legal scholars that Selznick described for the second stage[ Kalven Harry, H. Z.

Indiscriminate peaceful resistance to laws is harmful to a society. Peaceful resistance to unjust laws, however, is not only good for a society, but fundamental to a free one. If the people put up no resistance to unjust laws, they are merely slaves of the state, without freedom. An unjust law is a law which either violates the natural rights of the people or forces them to act against their conscience. Although a few situations call for armed resistance, as the Declaration of Independence notes, most situations do not and peaceful resistance will almost always further the common good.