The American Jury System
Dan Hinde was our guest speaker this week. He is Judge of the 269th State District Court where he presides over court cases with a wide variety of litigants since appointed to the bench by the Governor in November of 2008. He spoke to us about the history of the American Jury System and its importance to the "rule of law" in society today.
One of the earliest antecedents of today's jury systems are juries in ancient Greece, including the city-state of Athens, where records of jury courts date back to 500 BCE. These voted by secret ballot and were eventually granted the power to annul unconstitutional laws, thus introducing judicial review.
The modern jury evolved out of the ancient custom of many ancient Germanic tribes whereby a group of men of good character was used to investigate crimes and/or judge the accused. The same custom evolved into the vehmic court system in medieval Germany. In Anglo-Saxon England, juries investigated crimes. After the Norman Conquest, some parts of the country preserved juries as the means of investigating crimes. The use of ordinary members of the community to consider crimes was unusual in ancient cultures, but was nonetheless also found in ancient Greece.
The modern jury trial evolved out of this custom in the mid 12th century during the reign of Henry II. Juries, usually 6 or 12 men, were an "ancient institution" in some parts of England. Members consisted of representatives of the basic units of local government—hundreds (an administrative sub-division of the shire, embracing several vills) and villages. Called juries of presentment, these men testified under oath to crimes committed in their neighborhood and indicted. The Assize of Clarendon in 1166 caused these juries to be adopted systematically throughout the country. The jury in this period was "self-informing," meaning it heard very little evidence or testimony in court. Instead, jurors were recruited from the locality of the dispute and were expected to know the facts before coming to court. The source of juror knowledge could include first-hand knowledge, investigation, and less reliable sources such as rumor and hearsay.
Between 1166 and 1179 new procedures including a division of functions between the sheriff, the jury of local men, and the royal justices ushered in the era of the English Common Law. Sheriffs prepared cases for trial and found jurors with relevant knowledge and testimony. Jurors 'found' a verdict by witnessing as to fact, even assessing and apply information from their own and community memory — little was written at this time and what was: deeds, writs, were subject to fraud. Royal justices supervised trials, answered questions as to law and announced the court's decision which was subject to appeal. Sheriffs executed the decision. These procedures enabled Henry II to delegate authority without endowing his subordinates with too much power.
The American Colonists brought the tradition of English Law with them and expected that they too would have the right to trial by jury. The denial of this right by the King was one of the reasons that the colonists moved to rebellion.
Today the right of a trial by your peers means that those called to serve on the jury must disrupt their everyday lives...take time away from their jobs and serve for days...weeks...and sometimes months during the trial process. Yet, serving on a jury is one of the most important "rights" and "duties" of each qualified citizen.
For more information on jury duty in Harris Country CLICK HERE.
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