Jury System: 19th And 20th Centuries

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” . The concept of the jury system was founded by the Norman following the Conquest. However, its early functions were not associated with the administration of justice. In England, early jurors were individuals compelled to take an oath, acting as witnesses providing sources of information for administrative purposes; to be used in what Devlin phrased an “inquest” as the King saw that there could be “no better way of getting at the facts” . But they gradually came to be used as adjudicators in both civil and criminal disputes. By the 12th Century, Under Henry II, the jury which comprised men drawn from the neighbourhood were summons to deliberate on evidence produced by the parties involved in a dispute. When a party received twelve oaths in his favour, he

He wrote that “the existence of trial by jury helps to ensure the independence and quality of the judges” and that it “gives the protection against laws which ordinary man may regard as harsh and oppressive.” This insight sheds light on the constitutional aspect of the trial by jury, highlighted by the view that trial by jury affords the common man participation in judicial proceedings and the comfort it affords a defendant to be tried by his peers. It is noted that the trial by jury, involves the common citizen in the decision-making process where participation is viewed as an integral part of a democratic