Jury System Strengths and Weaknesses Flashcards
3 strengths of the jury system
Cross-section
General community
Spreads responsibility
Cross-section strength
A trial by jury represents trial by one’s peers. A jury is made up of average people who are as far as possible, a cross-section of the community. An accused person can therefore feel confident that they are being tried by people like themselves from within society. A jury is able to assess the situation before it according to the current standards of the general community.
General community strength
Serving as a juror is seen as part of a citizen’s civic duty. A person who serves on a jury is able to participate in the legal system and see the legal system in operation. This can help members of society improve their knowledge of how the legal system works, allow the jurors to see the plight of others in society and generally help those participating to gain a feeling of confidence in the legal system.
Spreads responsibility strength
The use of a jury allows the decision-making to be spread over more shoulders, rather than being placed solely in the hands of a judge. For example, if 12 people decide that a person is guilty, this decision is more likely to be correct than a decision made by one person. People are therefore more likely to feel confident in the decision made.
3 weaknesses of the jury system
Cross section
Difficulty
Complicated
Cross section weakness
It is unlikely that a jury will fully represent a cross-section of the community because communities comprise interest groups with very different needs. A jury is also not a true cross-section of society because some members of the community are ineligible, disqualified or excused, and because of challenges. The decision of the jury may not, therefore, reflect community values.
Difficulty weakness
LINKS WITH GENERAL COMMUNITY STRENGTH. The jury is expected to collate, remember, analyse and interpret the facts of the case and to follow the instructions of the judge, as well as being unbiased and unemotional. This is an extremely difficult task for anyone and especially so for the many people who have had little training in these skills.
Complicated weakness
A juror might experience difficulty in understanding the complicated nature of some evidence and the sheer volume of evidence. The witnesses are questioned by both sides, and the jury has to piece together the whole picture from the answers given. This is made even more difficult by evidence that is hard to understand; for example, medical evidence or evidence relating to fraud.
