An Essay on the Trial by Jury by Lysander Spooner
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"An Essay on the Trial by Jury" by Lysander Spooner is a legal and philosophical treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work explores the fundamental rights and responsibilities of juries, emphasizing their power to judge not only the facts of a case but also the justice of the laws themselves. Spooner argues that this right is essential to protect individual liberties from governmental oppression, framing the jury system as a bulwark
against tyranny. At the start of the essay, Spooner establishes the historical context of the trial by jury, tracing its roots back to the Magna Carta and articulating how this mechanism is intended to empower the people's judgment over the government's authority. He insists that for a jury to function as a "palladium of liberty," it must be allowed to hold laws as invalid if deemed unjust or oppressive. Spooner warns against the dangers of a juror's ability to be influenced by governmental edicts and argues that the integrity of the jury is paramount to maintaining the freedoms of individuals against the actions of the state. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Spooner, Lysander, 1808-1887 |
|---|---|
| Title | An Essay on the Trial by Jury |
| Credits |
Produced by Susan Goble, Curtis Weyant, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 48.6 (College-level). Difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | K: Law in general, Comparative and uniform law, Jurisprudence |
| Subject | Jury -- United States |
| Subject | Jury -- Great Britain |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 32984 |
| Release Date | Jun 27, 2010 |
| Last Update | Jan 6, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 504 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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