Juries

1
Juries

• Sociology 641

2
A Brief History of the Jury

• Medieval jury Community members familiar with
  the case
• Gradually transformed into a body of neutral
  peer-arbiters
• Today
• Movement away from juries
• An increasingly controversial institution

3
Irrationality/Unpredictability

• Juries are both the most democratic, and the
  least legal adjudicatory institution
• Weber An irrational element in Anglo-American
  law
• Note Discretion and secrecy do not necessarily
  imply total unpredictability
• Hence, jury research

4
Jury Nullification

• Kalven Zeisel 20 nullification rate
• Influences on nullification
• Cultural Lag
• Extra-legal considerations
• Intro to Inside the Jury Room