Right to a Jury Trial

Right to a Jury Trial

A legal proceeding whereby a jury makes decisions or findings that are factual that are then applied by a judge is known as a jury trial. It is different from a bench trial where the sole decision maker is a panel of judges or a judge. Jury trials are applied in serious criminal cases in legal systems. Juries or lay judges have now been incorporated into the legal system of civil law countries for their criminal cases.

Among the several amendments, this is one of the most important amendments associated to the individual's benefit. It is under the seventh amendment in the constitution of the U.S.A. And it is preserved to the parties in violate (Cornel University Law School, 2013). The right to a jury states that in criminal prosecutions an accused person has the right to trial by a jury that is impartial, found in the state or district that the crime was committed. The clause forms an important part of the process of trying accused. This right to jury was known as the palladium of English liberty. The right to trial by jury is purposed to prevent a group of judges or individual judge from making serious judgments on people that might negatively affect their lives.

The right to jury ensures that more people will scrutinize the evidence and get information from both sides upon which they will form basis for the decisions to be made. A single judge if given the authority to condemn a person to life imprisonment or death could pass judgment that is biased and therefore making the alleged/accused a victim of a judge who may be corrupt (Revolutionary War and Beyond, 2013).

The jury system forms a basis in the American justice system and therefore very vital when it comes to democracy. The existence of a jury also ensures that the systems are under check. It is a long standing safeguard that is fundamental when it comes to the constitution liberties. Though the jury system is not perfect, it is the best system that ever exists that has potential of yielding fair results.

The jury being that it is made up of varied legal authorities with varying experiences and background is better placed as far as legal decision making on a case that may lead to capital punishments or harsh punishments like life imprisonment. The jury can pass verdicts that are better than a single judge handling the case alone. Therefore the right to trial by jury is important for any accused individual.

The right to trial by a jury is central in any society that looks forward to serving the citizens in a just manner. It serves an important function of protecting accused people from unjust judgments from biased or corrupt judges. Judges are not special or different from other people and thus have the capability of making mistakes or malevolence just like any other person. This means that the bench jury that will sit through a case have higher chances of coming out with a less erroneous judgment as compared to a single judge handling a case or petition.