Judge and Jury Flashcards
Gower
Judge instructed jury that they needed to use man of ordinary prudence standard and said it was such care as “one of you” would have exercised (court concluded that jury members are not necessarily prudent people)
*Goodman
Goodman slowed down before crossing train tracks but had no view. Holmes said Goodman responsible for his own death because “when a man goes upon a railroad track, he knows that he goes to a place where he will be killed if a train comes upon him before he is clear of the track.” If he doesn’t get out of the car “he does so at his own risk.” STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN. Didn’t leave the case to a jury because “question of due care very generally is left for the jury. But we are dealing with a standard of conduct, and when the standard is clear it should be laid down once for all by the courts.”
*Pokora
Plaintiff listened at track but didn’t get out of car and was hit by train, lower courts used Goodman rule. Cardozo said “standards of prudent conduct are declared at times by courts, but they are taken over from the facts of life” and getting out of the car at railroad tracks is an uncommon precaution based on everyday experience. Needed the jury. Lecturing Holmes for improper decision: “Illustrations such as these bear witness to the need for caution in framing standards of behavior that amount to rules of law. The need is more urgent when there is no background of experience out of which the standards have emerged.”
Holmes
Court submits something to a jury bc he believes the matter has a rule derived from daily experience and believes the jury has more sufficient practice experience (this is “aiding the court’s conscience”). If state of facts is often repeated, the standard doesn’t have to keep being submitted to a jury – the court will either have a consistent standard to apply or if the jury has been “oscillating to & fro” it will get sick of using them and decide for itself. UNLESS standard is rapidly changing, like for medical treatments. Cases will often have tiny factual differences, and it is the judge with his breadth of experience who will be able to represent common sense of the community best bc can draw on and weigh wide breadth of cases and see overall context. THEREFORE the sphere in which a judge doesn’t need a jury should be “continually growing.”
