Monday 24 November 2014

Grounds For American Trial Jury Reform

By Ida Dorsey


To millions of Americans, the justice arrangement of the nation is pillared on the jury system. The method upholds the right of every citizen and grants fairness and impartiality in court cases. However, many Americans have come to believe that the purpose of the jury method has been abused. A number of verdicts have been reached by the system have angered some people. These are some of the reasons why some people feel it is time for American trial jury reform.

Some verdicts have elicited dissatisfaction among the people. Social disquiet has been witnessed in the wake of unpopular verdicts. Some defense lawyers have mustered tricks to manipulate the juries. This dissatisfaction has spurred calls to re-look at the jury arrangement. Already some changes have been implemented in some states and this is expected to be replicated all over the nation.

The judging arrangement has been in use for a very long time and was incorporated in the constitution in 1791. It was an effective method of protecting citizens who could be prosecuted wrongly. A lot has happened over the years, making the arrangement move from its initial purpose. In order to ensure the method does not lose relevance, it is time to consider making some changes in it.

Although the need for reform is evident, little has changed in the grand jury. About 20 years ago, Congress made serious efforts to make changes in the jury. This was after strong urging from the American Bar Association. A lot of bills were introduced and plenty of studies conducted. All the work did not succeed in bringing in any of the anticipated reforms.

The number of prosecutors in American courts has increased. The accused have suffered because there is no control of against grand jury abuses. Many people have been convicted unfairly thus destroying their lives. The purpose of guarding the rights of citizens was one of the objectives of the judging structure. Juries have not adhered to this and perhaps it is time to get things back on course.

Some people call for the total elimination of jurors from the American justice method while others support reforms. One of the reform proposals that have become popular is the need to stop from forcing jurors to have unanimous verdicts. Some states have already made this implementation with regard to civil cases. Soon non-unanimous decisions may be allowed in criminal cases too. Proponents of these changes believe the arrangement operations will be smooth.

Many Americans have lost confidence in the arrangement with a majority not willing to take part in them. This loss of confidence may have resulted from how a number of cases have been handled in the last 40 or so years. The society has also evolved massively, which calls for the judging method to accommodate these changes.

The role of the media in court cases has been blamed for public perceptions. Some evidence is not made available to the public. This creates a problem in public awareness that will use what they have to make wrong perception of the verdict. The media focus their attention on the jurors. This can have an effect on the way they deliberate.




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