The Trial by Jury Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Trial by Jury - Essay Example Through the device of peremptory challenge which has been allowed in the selection of jurors, it has become possible for the defense or the prosecution to manipulate the composition of the jury to suit their own purposes and further the verdict they seek to achieve, thereby making a mockery of the impartiality and dependability of the judicial process, which works to uncover the facts surrounding a case from an unbiased perspective and through an application of the law by honest, fair and unprejudiced jurors. Therefore, unless a pure jury system is reintroduced, the truth could be obscured or manipulated through the devices mentioned above and it may become necessary for a judge to adopt a more inquisitorial role to probe deeper to discover the truth. One of the first aspects that belie the impartiality of the pure jury trial process lies in the terms â€Å"on indictment† in Article 80 of the Constitution, whereby the jury trial may be precluded altogether through Parliament authorizing summary proceedings for any offense. Fricke illustrates the merits of the pure jury system that was able to acquit 13 diggers who were accused of treason in the Eureka trials, thus illustrating the power of the democratic jury trial process in upholding the popular perspective over the official establishment view. But the compromising of the pure jury trial process may be noted in Justice Wright’s criticism of the existing jury trial system on the basis that juries deliver wrong verdicts because they essentially consist of amateurs who are easily influenced and manipulated by clever counsels. Hence it may be necessary for judges themselves step in and uncover the truth which the jury may not be able to successfully achieve. The case o f R v Laws also points out the dangers in using juries who may divulge information about jury deliberations before the verdict is reached in a case.