Abstract
Having dispensed with incompetence and prejudice as primary determinants of jury verdicts, we are left with a final charge: Juries ignore or “nullify” the law and render verdicts based upon their own standards of justice. Critics of the jury system claim that juries are routinely at war with the law. Supporters acknowledge that the war takes place but argue that it occurs only when strict application of the letter of the law would result in an injustice.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
“Eight in South Africa protest are acquitted of trespassing.” (1985, May 19). The New York Times, p. 40.
Quinn, H. (1984, November 19). Abortion wins another round. Maclean’s, pp. 46–49.
Steed, J. (1983, February 4). Will battered wife face a new murder trial? Toronto Globe & Mail, p. Al.
Kalven, H., and Zeisel, H. (1966). The American Jury. Boston: Little, Brown. See Chapters 16 through 27.
Beach, B. (1982, April 26). Is the party finally over? Time, pp. 59–60; Goodspeed, P. (1985, January 27). New prohibition sweeps U.S. The Toronto Star, p. H1.
McCabe, S., and Purves, R. (1972). The Jury at Work. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
McCabe, S., and Purves, R. (1974). The Shadow Jury at Work. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
also see Zander, M. (1975). Juries’ decisions and acquittal rates. In N. Walker (Ed.). The British Jury System. University of Cambridge: Institute of Criminology.
Myers, M. (1979). Rule departures and making law: Juries and their verdicts. Law and Society Review, 13, 781–798.
Sparf v. United States 156 U.S. 51 (1896). Quote is from p. 62 n. 1.
Mitford, J. (1969). The Trial of Dr. Spock. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Quote is from pp. 234–235.
Ibid., pp. 227–228.
Ibid., p. 232.
Duncan v. Louisiana 391 U.S. 145 (1968) at 155.
Taylor v. Louisiana 419 U.S. 522 (1975) at 530.
Scheflin, A., and Van Dyke, J. (1980). Jury nullification: The contours of a controversy. Law and Contemporary Problems, 43, 51–115.
Doob, A. N. (1979). Public’s view of criminal jury trial. In Studies on the Jury. Ottawa: Law Reform Commission of Canada.
Doob, A. N. (1979). Canadian trial judges’ view of the criminal trial jury. In Studies on the Jury. Ottawa: Law Reform Commission of Canada.
United States v. Dougherty 472 F.2d 1113 (D.C. Cir. 1972).
Jacobsohn, G. J. (1976). The right to disagree: Judges, juries, and the administration of criminal justice in Maryland. Washington University Law Quarterly, 1976, 571–607.
Horowitz, I. A. (1985). The effect of jury nullification instruction on verdicts and jury functioning in criminal trials. Law and Human Behavior, 9, 25–36.
Judge Ulman, as quoted in Frank, J. (1945). Courts on Trial. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, p. 120.
California Citizen’s Commission on Tort Reform. (1977). Righting the Liability Balance, p. 9.
Watkins, F. (1976). Social inflation: Our next trial. Insurance Magazine, 77, 42.
Psychology factors affecting verdicts. (1984). Personal Injury Valuation Handbooks, 4, 687–751.
Kalven, H. (1964). The dignity of the civil jury. Virginia Law Review, 50, 1055–1075; Kalven and Zeisel (1966).
Peterson, M., and Priest, G. (1982). Trends in Trials and Verdicts, Cook County, Illinois 1960–1979. Santa Monica, Calif.: The Rand Corporation.
Peterson, M. (1984). Compensation of Injuries: Civil Jury Verdicts in Cook County. Santa Monica, Calif.: The Rand Corporation.
Chin, A., and Peterson, M. (1985). Deep Pockets, Empty Pockets: Who Wins in Cook Countty Jury Trials. Santa Monica, Calif.: The Rand Corporation.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Valerie P. Hans and Neil Vidmar
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hans, V.P., Vidmar, N. (1986). The War with the Law. In: Judging the Jury. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6463-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6463-2_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-42255-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6463-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive