The Right To A Free Trial

The Right To A Free Trial

One of the most important freedoms in the American judicial system is
the right to a jury trial. This allows a minimum of six Americans, chosen from
a list of registered voters, to determine a person's guilt or innocence through
deliberations. They have the power to express the conscious of society as well
as interpret and judge the laws themselves. If they feel that a law is
unconstitutional, evil, or even unfair they can void it for the circumstance by
declaring the defendant not-guilty. The power of the jury is enormous and
through time has become more equitable by decreasing the limitations to become a
juror including race and sex. Part of the reasoning behind the right to a jury
trial is to limit government power. Although judges should be fair and just,
total power is too strong, and could be used to aid some people while harming
others. As someone once said, “Power corrupts sometimes, but absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” Many people thought anarchy would form through the use of
a jury system, but no such thing has occurred. It has produced a feeling of
involvement in the judicial system and government itself. Throughout this essay,
a comparison of a real jury, a simulated jury, and Hollywood's perception of a
jury will be discussed. The television special, Inside the Jury Room, showed a
videotaping of a real life jury as seen in a small criminal courtroom. The case
was Wisconsin v. Leroy Reed, a criminal trial for the possess...

The Right To A Free Trial

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