Putting the Jury System on Trial

Authors

  • Nathan Chan Shanghai American School
  • John Yates Shanghai American School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i2.3138

Keywords:

Jury trial, Sixth Amendment

Abstract

The Sixth Amendment guarantees all United States citizens the “right to an impartial jury.” Yet, this is not the case. In this paper, I will focus on examining the racial bias and the prejudice against under-resourced defendants that plague the criminal justice system. However, I will argue that these flaws stem from the execution, not the theoretical basis, of jury trials. Rather, trials by jury are uniquely suited to encourage civic participation while preventing tyranny, which are key pillars of American democracy. Nonetheless, without action, the prejudice that has rendered jury trials unconstitutional will stop real justice from ever being reached. Thus, should a response be prompted against trials by jury, it should be one that reforms its bias and prejudice, instead of abolishment. In this paper, I will first discuss the failings of jury trials, before justifying why they should not be abolished and thereafter providing suggestions for their improvement.

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Author Biography

John Yates, Shanghai American School

Advisor

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Published

05-31-2022

How to Cite

Chan, N., & Yates, J. (2022). Putting the Jury System on Trial. Journal of Student Research, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i2.3138

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HS Research Articles