1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813964903321

Autore

Jonakait Randolph N

Titolo

The American jury system / / Randolph N. Jonakait

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven [Conn.], : Yale University Press, c2003

ISBN

1-281-73021-1

9786611730215

0-300-12940-8

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (384 p.)

Collana

Yale contemporary law series

Disciplina

347.73/752

Soggetti

Jury - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-330) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Overview -- Checking abuses of power -- Hammering out facts -- Juries and community values -- Abide the issue -- Jury size and jury performance -- Unanimity and hung juries -- The vicinage -- The most diverse of our democratic bodies -- Challenges for cause -- Preemptory challenges -- "Scientific" jury selection -- The adversary system -- Presentation of evidence -- Instructions -- Jury verdicts and the primacy of evidence -- Jury trials of complex cases -- Jury nullification -- The finality of verdicts -- Reform.

Sommario/riassunto

How are juries selected in the United States? What forces influence juries in making their decisions? Are some cases simply beyond the ability of juries to decide? How useful is the entire jury system?In this important and accessible book, a prominent expert on constitutional law examines these and other issues concerning the American jury system. Randolph N. Jonakait describes the historical and social pressures that have driven the development of the jury system; contrasts the American jury system to the legal process in other countries; reveals subtle changes in the popular view of juries; examines how the news media, movies, and books portray and even affect the system; and discusses the empirical data that show how juries actually operate and what influences their decisions. Jonakait endorses the jury system in both civil and criminal cases, spelling out the important social role juries play in legitimizing and affirming the



American justice system.