What Is a Traverse Jury?
A traverse jury is an early 19-century term for petit jury. A petit jury is a 16th-century term meaning jury. The adjective petit is used to distinguish this type of jury from a grand jury, which--in Ancient Greece where the institution originated--included more than twelve people. Juries are often used in criminal or civil cases where a person has been accused of an illegal act. The judge in the case deals with the legal question while the jury considers the facts of the case in reaching its decision, as mentioned by legal writer Frank N. Schubert.
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Definition
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A jury is a group of individuals who take part in deciding a case. They hear the testimony of witnesses, experts, the plaintiff and defendant, and are presented with the evidence relevant to the case. They may be used in both criminal or civil trials, according to Schubert. The jury's job is to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, based on the testimony and evidence.
Reason for Juries
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Juries emerged as a way to allow an accused person, or the defendant, to be able to get a fair hearing, since the jury is technically supposed to be composed of people from the community in which the accused lived. In the U.S. this impartial approach has not always been sought historically, particularly in the Southeast where all-white juries often condemned black defendants of crimes. For reasons such as this, attorneys may try to achieve a demographic balance on juries, so that they truly represent the community of the accused.
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History of Jury Trials
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The history of jury use in the American legal system can be linked to the Magna Carta, the influential 13th-century charter which, among other things, granted due process to freemen. Juries were initially bodies meant to provide inquests. Not until the 17th-century were juries used for criminal cases. English settlers to the New World brought their knowledge of the English court system with them. Therefore, its institutions highly influenced the Constitution, which allows for jury trial in the Sixth Amendment.
The Trouble with Juries
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Jury trials can be expensive, lengthy and rather involved. This is because certain procedures must be used for juries since they are unaware how to effectively deal with evidence. Juries can also be unpredictable with their conclusions, a reality that lawyers seek to remedy by using jury research firms and other means. Additionally, the use of juries adds to the backlog of cases on court dockets, as mentioned by Schubert.
Future of Juries
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In spite of the problems with jury trials, they most likely are not going to be going away, according to Schubert. They may simply get smaller, as many jurisdictions now allow six-person, rather than twelve-person juries for trials. This may help to reduce the overall costs.
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