Trial by jury
misleading parliament about the sinking of the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano. During the trial, the judge directed the jury that the interests of the state were identical to the policies of the government in power, effectively giving Ponting no legal defence. The jury, despite the judge’s clear direction to convict, reached a ‘perverse verdict’, acquitting Ponting and concluding that his actions were justifiable in the public interest. 7 A perverse verdict is a decision by the jury resulting in an acquittal despite knowing that the defendant has broken the law. This may not be legal accuracy, but it is democratic legitimacy. Unlike the judicial system, which has statutes and codes to follow, a decision by democracy is based on the vox populi . Although democracy is not perfect, its legitimacy is given by the people; it is the will of the majority. When the power of establishing laws is given to the government, there could easily be abuses of power – as in the Nazi regime. Thus, the existence of juries is a constitutional safeguard which would be removed if juries were abolished. An institution is not obsolete merely because a superior alternative exists. Jury trials remain necessary because it provides democratic legitimacy and safeguards against excessive state power. If the purpose is legal accuracy and efficiency, a panel of judges could be superior; if the purpose is democratic legitimacy and protection from excessive state power, juries remain indispensable. Therefore, juries are imperfect, but they are not obsolete. Bibliography Getler, M. (1985) ‘British jury acquits defense aide of violating Secrets Acts’, Washington Times (12 Feb). Available at: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91-00561R000100020053-1.pdf Gorphe, F. (1936) ‘Reforms of the Jury-System in Europe: France and other continental countries’, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 27.2: 155-58. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2628&context=jclc Holocaust encyclopedia (n.d.) ‘Law and Justice in the Third Reich’, available at: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/law-and-justice-in-the-third-reich?series=40 Justia, US Supreme Court. (n.d.) ‘Batson v. Kentucky,476 U.S. 79 (1986)’, available at: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/476/79/ Landow, G. (n.d.) ‘Lee Kuan Yew’s Opposition to Trial by Jury’, Postcolonialweb. Available at: https://www.postcolonialweb.org/Singapore/government/leekuanyew/lky2.html Lawteacher (2018) ‘Jury System Criminal’, Lawteacher (2 Feb). Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/free- law-essays/criminal-law/jury-system-criminal.php Legifrance (n.d.) Article 6. Available at:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/article_lc/LEGIARTI000035391366 Liu, J. and Chen, L. (2020) ‘Jury trial and public trust in the judiciary: evidence from cross-countries comparison’, Asia Pacific Law Review 28.2: 412-36. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10192557.2020.1867794 Milners (2023) ‘Where do juries come from’, Milners Solicitors (3 November). Available at: https://www.milnerslaw.co.uk/where-do-juries-come-from/ Müller, M. (2023) ‘Der Fall Frieda Keller: Ein Herz für die Kindsmörderin‘, Tagblatt (23 September). Available at: https://www.tagblatt.ch/leben/der-fall-frieda-keller-ein-herz-fuer-die-kindsmoerderin-ld.1055180 Neal, J. (2024) ‘The veiled history of the English jury trial’, Harvard Law Today (6 May). Available at: https://hls.harvard.edu/today/the-veiled-history-of-the-english-jury-trial/
7 See Getler 1985; UK Parliament Hansard (n.d.).
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