Pros And Cons Of The Jury System

The American Jury system had been used ever since we became a country. In fact the jury system originated from England a long time ago. The jury system is very controversial because it involves ordinary citizens making the verdict of criminal activities. Although we still use it, is it really necessary in today’s day and age. Obviously when someone is put on trial there needs to be a decision on whether they are guilty or not, but that’s why we also have a judge. Another way we can reach a verdict is through a bench trial where only the judge makes the decision. The judge is a legal expert on any present case, but the judge is the only person who makes the decision. For the most part either a bench trial or jury trial will get the job done

Their jury system came from other similar courts within even older systems. “Of course trial by jury is one of our sacred cows” (Document B). What this person is saying is that we have a lot of respect towards our jury system and we don’t like to criticize it. Although it may seem we overvalue it, the jury system still brings things to the table that other trails can’t do. Some writing by Mark Twain in Document F shows that people who have a lot of knowledge about a case cannot be selected as a jury member. Mark Twain himself did not like this and it is apparent in his writing that the jury members were not very intelligent because they knew nothing about the case. Looking at it that way makes the jury system seem bad and that’s correct, but the example was used for something that took place over a century ago. Our jury system has been through thick and thin and has changed with the people in our society. “Jury service has a special role of ensuring popular oversight in the judicial process” (Document C). Again our framers knew that having a jury system would be important especially down the road as our nation developed more. The jury system was made to be used hundreds of years after it was emplaced and it will continue that