The History of Citizen Juries

Whether it is Judge Judy during the day, Law and Order in prime time, or Court TV around the clock, Americans are fascinated by the justice system.

As interesting as it is to watch courtroom dramas, taking part in them is even more meaningful. Juries bring the voice of the people to the justice system. Twelve private citizens sit in judgment of their neighbors with the power to apply the law. The police search, the lawyers debate, and the judge oversees the trial, but it is the jurors who make the final decision.

How Did Citizen Juries Emerge?

The role of citizen juries in a free society began in 1215 with the Magna Carta. King John of England declared: “No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned...or in any other way destroyed…except by the lawful judgment of his peers.” Despite this policy, King John and later rulers were still hostile to juries. They sometimes ignored them or even punished jurors for their verdicts.

Can Jurors Be Punished for Their Verdicts?

In 1670 England, William Penn was arrested for preaching at a Quaker religious meeting. He had openly broken the law that made the Church of England the kingdom’s only legal church. Penn was clearly “guilty” under the law. But four jurors would not convict. The four holdouts said it was an “unjust law.” The four Penn jurors were sentenced to nine weeks of torture in prison. King Charles II freed the jurors after a few days, but fined each a lot of money. The four refused to pay and remained in jail until the court removed the fines. The Penn case demonstrates the principle that juries now cannot be punished
for their verdicts.

How Do the Constitution and the Bill of Rights Protect Juries?

Before the American Revolution, the British often did not honor the right to a jury trial. This action fueled the colonists’ desire for independence. The colonists particularly hated the British practice of taking colonists away to England to be tried in admiralty courts. In these courts, a single military judge determined guilt. In the Constitution, the Founders made sure that “the Trial of all Crimes… shall be by Jury” in the state where the alleged crime was committed. The tradition of citizens finding guilt was upheld.

The Bill of Rights affirms in three places the right to a trial by jury. The Fifth Amendment states that the federal government must provide a grand jury for “a capital or otherwise infamous crime.” Grand juries have between sixteen and twenty-three members. To carry out this rule, a federal prosecutor must convince twelve jurors that there is enough evidence to go to trial. The grand jury system makes sure that citizens decide if the government may charge someone with a very serious crime.

The Sixth Amendment requires that a jury be impartial. The trial must also be held in the state where the alleged crime took place. The Seventh Amendment protects the right to a jury trial in most federal civil lawsuits. These lawsuits usually are brought in federal court because the parties live in different states.

How Is a Jury Assembled?

As a first step in selecting jurors, courts call more citizens than they actually need. The jury pool is made up of the people who live in the court’s jurisdiction. These persons are selected at random to ensure a fair cross-section of the community.

Next, the judge and attorneys interview the prospective jurors. They ask questions to see if each prospective juror can be unbiased. Attorneys may remove or strike prospective jurors based on their interviews. For example, if a person has strong personal or political biases, he or she may not be able to set them aside and be fair.

Serving on juries has not always been an option for all Americans. African Americans and women fought long legal battles to win the right to serve on juries. The Supreme Court ruled on these issues in Strauder v.West Virginia (1880), Taylor v. Louisiana (1975), and Hernandez v. Texas (1954). Today, most jury lists are drawn from voter registration and driver's license lists. This way they are more likely to reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic makeup of the community.

What Are the Responsibilities of Jurors?

Jurors must listen objectively to the evidence and be prepared to consider the facts of the case. Jurors must also keep an open mind until the attorneys finish presenting evidence. They may not discuss the trial with anyone or view news accounts of it. In some cases where great media coverage is likely, jurors may be sequestered by the judge. This means they will live apart from their families, usually in a hotel. They can have no access to media sources for the length of the trial in order to be shielded from outside influence. When the prosecution and defense are through with their cases, the judge instructs the jurors about the application of the law. The jury then withdraws to discuss. This can take hours or days. Once they reach their verdict, the foreperson reads it to the court.

What Power Do Juries Have?

Juries have powerful abilities. They determine the facts of a case. They decide who is truthful and who is lying. They apply the laws in the courtroom. They choose which citizens will be allowed to remain free and which ones will be removed from society. They have the power to find guilt or innocence.

Average citizens on juries have held tremendous power for hundreds of years in America. They continue to do their civic duty to administer justice and sometimes even change the course of history. One day you will no doubt be called for jury duty. It will be your chance to play a part in justice being done.