Jury System of the United

¶ … jury system of the United States and the escabinos system of Venezuela. The writer explores the system and duties of each system. The writer the provides a comparison of the two systems. There were four sources used to complete this paper.

In a study about cultures one of the most interesting aspects of that study is the study of law and judicial processes. Across the world different nations set their judicial systems up according to the nation's beliefs about the best way to handle that need. Two nations, America and Venezuela have set up judicial systems that allow those accused of crime to face court. In America that system is called a jury system while in Venezuela it is called an escabino system. Each system works to provide the most fair atmosphere possible for those accused of crimes and those who have been the victim of crimes. There are many similarities in the two systems and there are also several differences.

Escabinos

For one to be able to evaluate and compare the escabino system to the jury system one needs to have an understanding of the escabino system.

An escabino is a position that was outlined through the Organic Code Procedural Penitentiary. In the nation of Venuzeual it is considered a right and something to be proud to do. One of the things the system does to insure participants will agree to take part in the escabino system is to promise their protection. If they are willing to take on the duty of being an escabino and perform all of the duties that go with it the government promises to protect those individuals from harm that is related to carrying out those duties.

When comparing the two systems it is important to remember that the underyling intent of both systems is to provide the most effective system possible with which to try defendants and protect victims.

The first thing to compare is the way participants are chosen. In the escabino system the participants are chosen through voter lists. This is the same way that American jurors are chosen. In America the voter registration lists are provided to the court system for juror selection and from those lists potential jurors are drawn randomly and the individuals are then notified by mail that they have been selected as a potential juror.

In the escabino system the period of the possibility to serve is for two years. In America it varies depending on what type of jury one is chosen to be on. If it is a grand jury selection the person could be appointed for a one year period or shorter. If it is an individual criminal trial court the person can be assigned to sit as juror for that one trial or for many trials throughout the course of a day or a week.

One of the differences between an escabino and a juror is the type of crimes they can perform their duties for.

An escabjno is more limited in the type of trial that the escabino can sit on as compared to an America juror.

A point by point comparison will find very few differences between the two systems but the differences that are present are significant.

The American jury system is in place because the founding fathers of the nation did not trust those in judicial power to be fair and impartial when it came to meting out justice. Because of that mistrust and concern the founding fathers proposed a jury system in which someone accused of a crime could choose to be judged by a jury of his or her peers (Jury Reform (http://www.constitution.org/jury/jury.htm).

Peers in the case of a jury system means citizens who are randomly chosen for the sole purpose of hearing the evidence against someone and determining whether or not they committed the acts that they have been accused of.

The jury system was chosen and designed to provide the ultimate protection for both the defendant and the victim of crime.

There are two kinds of juries: trial and grand. In a jury trial, the jury is the real judge. The "judge" who presides over the trial is really the president of the court. His proper job is only to control procedure (Jury Reform (http://www.constitution.org/jury/jury.htm)."

There are two kinds of trial: criminal and civil. In a civil trial, the jury decides based on a preponderance of evidence, and a unanimous vote is not required. In a criminal trial, the jury has the duty to acquit the accused unless the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and it takes the vote of all twelve jurors to convict. Once acquitted, the accused may not be retried for the same offense (Jury Reform (http://www.constitution.org/jury/jury.htm)."

The members of a trial jury are provided a place to sit and listen to the evidence that is presented during the trial. In a typical jury trial the judge will give the members of the jury explicit instructions as to what they are to do and what their duties are.

The problem is, in our system of law, the "law" in a case is also a kind of fact. Judges don't make the law by their decisions. They only "find" what the law is, based on the intentions of the lawgivers. One of those laws, the Constitution for the United States, and, in a state trial, the constitution of the state, is the supreme law, which is superior to any statute or other official act that may conflict with it. Deciding whether a statute or other official act is consistent with either or both constitutions is not a question only for a judge to decide. It is also a question for anyone who is involved in the legal system, especially the jury. If the case against the accused is based on a statute or other official act that is not authorized by the applicable constitution, then it is unconstitutional, and the jury has the duty to acquit, no matter how heinous the offense or how evil the accused might be (Jury Reform (http://www.constitution.org/jury/jury.htm)."

While many jurors are chosen from registered voter lists the system also taps into a driver license list for its pool of possible participants.

When the list of juror participants is chosen those who are on the list are notified that they will serve a one week service. The one week does not necessarily mean that the participant will actually be seated on a jury nor will they have to actually serve in a court room. The one week service notification is letting that potential juror know that he or she is expected to be completely available for jury duty during that week.

The jury system by its very design chooses random citizens so that a strong cross section of varied economic, racial and social individuals are chosen.

Under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, a jury may not be selected in a manner whereby there is a systematic exclusion of any distinct class of persons in the population, or from lists which fail to reflect a representative cross section of the community or under any other prejudicial circumstance that denies a defendant a fair trial by an impartial jury. In order to uphold this, we need those summoned to participate in the jury process to ensure every citizen's right to have their case decided by an impartial jury selected from a representative pool of prospective jurors (Frequently Asked Questions for the Jury Commission (http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/faqs/jury_f.htm)." juror is mandated to call in every day for the term of the service. If they are told that they must report they have to report to see if they are needed for service. The trial in question may last longer than the week of service, in which case the juror is expected to see the trial through to the end.

A petit, or trial jury is generally 12 people sworn to try a criminal or civil case, hearing evidence and rendering a verdict. In some cases additional jurors can be chosen as alternates. Some types of cases may use a jury of six (6) people. A grand jury, so named because it is comprised of a greater number of people (16) than a petite jury, is sworn to hear evidence presented by the prosecution and determines if probable cause exists that a crime has been committed (Frequently Asked Questions for the Jury Commission (http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/faqs/jury_f.htm)."

Once a juror has been chosen that juror will sit and listen carefully to the evidence presented and then base his or her vote solely on that evidence and the instructions given by the judge. The jury must vote unanimously to convict, otherwise it is a hung jury and the district attorney has to decide whether or not to start the entire process over again or to decide not to retry the defendant.

Some of the differences between the two systems include the type of court or trial they are used for. An escabino is only used for penalties that are from four years to sixteen years and some juvenile hearings, while an American juror can be on any case from a misdemeanor all the way to a death penalty case.

Another difference between the American juror system and the Venuzuela escabino system is the number of participants. In the American juror system there are 12 jurors seated with several alternatives on the ready. This means if one of the chosen jurors cannot serve completely through to the end then one of the alternatives will step in and take that jurors place. As an alternative the juror is expected to listen as attentively as if he or she were an actual juror and not an alternate. This way, if the alternate has to step in then he or she is already apprised of the same evidence and testimony that the regular jury has received thus far.

The escabino system and the jury system have a commonality when it comes to confidentiality. Both system instruct the participants to not discuss the cases that they are hearing outside of the courtroom or jury deliberation room until those cases are over with.

Another commonality that the escabino and the jury system have is the instruction to judge fairly. Each of the system participants are told that they must hear the evidence and then judge the defendant based only on that evidence and nothing else.

While the jury system has many excusable reasons that one can ask not to serve the escabino system only has four basic reasons that being excused is allowed for.

They are:

If one has served on escabino duty within the past four years one cannot serve currently.

The potential escabino will have his or her life harmed in some manner if they are required to serve at this time.

The potential escabino has a problem that will make it impossible for him or her to fairly and objectively perform the duties of escabino.

If one is more than 70 years old at the time they are called as potential escabino participants (Frequently Asked Questions for the Jury Commission (http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/faqs/jury_f.htm).

Another difference between the escabino and the jury system is the number of participants. There are 12 peer jurors while there are only two escabinos who sit with the judge president.

Escabinos are allowed to interrogate the witnesses while jurors can only ask to read the transcripts of the testimony they already heard. In addition the jurors can ask to go over any evidence tapes etc. that have been presented during the course of the trial.

Like the jury process, the escabino process dictates that there are certain conditions in which on which the juror or possible escabino will not be allowed to continue services. They include:

Being friends or having any prior relationship with any of the parties involved in the case

Being related by blood, marriage or adoption by any of the parties.

Having any communication whatsoever with any of the parties who are involved in the trial, the investigation or the case.

Other differences between the jury system and the escabino system include the qualifications by which they are allowed to serve (Frequently Asked Questions for the Jury Commission (http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/faqs/jury_f.htm).

An escabino must be a minimum of 25 years old while in America anyone over the age of 18 can be called to serve.

An escabino is required to be in full control of his or her civil and political rights. This is a similar requirement for a juror with one exception (Frequently Asked Questions for the Jury Commission (http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/faqs/jury_f.htm).