The Jury System and Democracy

A jury is a person who is un-qualified and not paid who is selected at random to participate in the court hearing. To be

The Sixth Amendment provides that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a(n) speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.

Juries are an essential component of Queensland’s criminal justice system. However, the current jury system in criminal law cases does not effectively meet the needs of society. This thesis is established by first examining the role that juries play in the criminal justice system and the various interests of those affected by juries. This is followed by a consideration of arguments for and against juries and reforms that may be made to the jury system. Overall, it will be seen that there are substantial reasons to reform the current system.

Every day people are convicted of crimes or arrested for other reasons. Once they are convicted they are summoned to court, this begins the jury process. Citizens are randomly chosen to serve on jury duty. The citizens on the jury will use the jury system to determine if the person being accused is guilty or innocent. Trials can become very long or they can be short it just depends on the topic and how long it takes to decide on what the consequences will be. The jury system is the main trial and the main decision of whether or not someone is right or wrong.

Where the innocence of the accused is determined by 12 regular people who will make a unanimous decision that will then direct the actions of the judge when passing sentence.

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution ensures that the defendant has to the right to a jury of their peers. The standard for a jury is usually 12 but the judge can alter that anywhere from 6-12 jurors; there is also two alternatives in the case there is a breech. If a jury is only made up of six jurors, the final verdict must be based on a unanimous vote from all of the jurors.

Juries are a crucial and irreplaceable part of the American justice system. The jury system has been around for hundreds of years. Our founding fathers viewed jury service as a critical part of democracy and self government. Twelve ordinary citizens make up the jury and will form a decision about the case. The jury system is still needed in the twenty-first century because it ensures the accused gets a fair trial and it promotes civic participation.

The jury system has been used in the criminal trial since the Constitution stated “the trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury.”

Criminal trials depend on the jury’s decision on whether a defendant is guilty or not of the crimes they are charged with. After examining the evidence and testimony during the trail, the jury will decide if the defendant broke the law. A judge will give specific instructions to follow, and the laws that govern the proceedings of the case.

During the jury trial, the accused person will be represented either by a paid lawyer of his or her choice or by a court-appointed one. During the trial it is solely upon the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused person, and it is up to the accused person and his representation to rebut the information the prosecution presents. When the jury has heard all of the evidence against the accused person, they will decide on whether the person is guilty or not guilty. If the accused person is found guilty by the jury, he or she will be sentenced according to the law. If the accused person is found not guilty by the jury, he or she will be able to return back into society as a free person.

A jury is a group of people who give a verdict in a legal case based on evidence provided to them in court. The idea of a jury dates back to 1215 the Magna Carta era, where King John of England agreed to mend himself (kings) to laws related to the management of kings and queens, representatives of the church and citizens. In Australia jury duty is a compulsory engagement. According to the Queensland government website a pool of 18-70 people are randomly selected from the electoral role. Additionally, from the 18-70 randomly selected people, 12 are handpicked by the defence and the prosecution to be jurors in the trial. Both the defence and the prosecution must agree on the jurors to eliminate potential bias.

The jury selection will be six to twelve depending on the case trial. The jury is required to listen to the evidence presented and make a mutual decision of innocent or guilty.

This being said, trials involving jury’s makeup an extremely small amount of court cases in Australia. Most cases of a criminal nature are heard Summarily in the Magistrates court before being given the opportunity to a trial by jury.

All the jury must agree on a verdict, if this is not possible then the

juror including race and sex. Part of the reasoning behind the right to a jury