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Pastimes : TOBACCO COURT * NEW LEGAL DEFENSES & PUBLIC OPINION
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To: MikeM54321 who wrote (21)2/17/1999 9:49:00 AM
From: Daniel Chisholm   of 32
 
It's frustrating to see juries convict when we might think that they are uneducated, overwhelmed by sleazy lawyers with smoke and mirrors, perhaps just vengeful, etc. However, an "incorrect" jury conviction can always be appealed.

However my understanding of the "checks and balances" function of the jury system is that its job is to *return a verdict of "not guilty" in cases where professional lawyers, law and judges might dictate a conviction*. That is the precise purpose of having non-professional juries, to provide isolation from the professional side of the justice system and hopefully provide another possible mechanism of allowing innocent defendants to be acquitted.

That non-professional juries sometimes wrongly convict or are easily swayed to award unreasonably large damages basically comes with the territory.

A very wise recognition of these advantages and disadvantages of a non-professional jury is seen in the fact that jury findings of "not guilty" are absolute and cannot be appealed whereas jury convictions can be challenged.

Seems to me that in spite of the obvious and annoying warts, there is some pretty deep and fundamental soundness to the system.

I think that if you're looking for improvement, the "professional" side of the system ought to do some work toward injecting sense into the sort of evidence and arguments that are presented to a jury (e.g. do not tolerate junk science, rhetorical trickery or unsound logic)

- Daniel
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