Prompt Cast
The History and Purpose of Juries: Exploring the Meaning of a Jury of Your Peers
TLDR The concept of a jury of your peers originated in 13th century England with the Magna Carta, but the jury system is not as widespread globally as it is in the United States. Juries have the power of jury nullification, allowing them to arrive at any conclusion they want for any reason they want, including acquitting someone if they believe the law is unjust.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The history and purpose of juries, as well as the meaning of a jury of your peers, are explored in this episode.
01:41
The modern notion of a jury comes from 13th century England and the Magna Carta, which protected the nobility from the king.
03:14
In a modern context, a jury of one's peers means a jury made up of a cross-section of the community, but it does not mean that you have a right to be tried by people who are similar to you in terms of income, occupation, race, sex, or age; the jury system is not as widespread around the world as one might think, with countries like Germany, France, India, and Sweden having different systems or limited use of juries, while in the United States, juries are required for all criminal cases and used for most major civil cases.
04:38
Grand juries, which only make indictments, have disappeared worldwide except in the United States and Liberia, and unlike petite juries, grand jury proceedings are secret and defendants may not be present or aware of the proceedings.
05:56
Petite juries in the United States are selected at random from publicly available lists, and attorneys from each side can strike potential jurors for reasons of impartiality or to improve their chances.
07:10
Juries in the U.S. now only determine guilt or innocence, not sentencing, and a unanimous decision is usually required, but if a jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, it results in a mistrial and a new trial with a new jury; jury deliberation lengths can vary greatly, from as short as one minute to several months; juries have the power of jury nullification, where they can arrive at any conclusion they want for any reason they want, including acquitting someone in violation of the law if they believe the law is unjust or the sentence would be too harsh.
08:26
Jury nullification is a theoretical issue in the US legal system, but there have been historical instances where juries refused to convict based on their belief that the laws were unjust, such as during the Fugitive Slave Act and prohibition eras.
