THE IMPORTANCE OF JURY TRIALS TO AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE
Trial & Litigation Section - Annual Student Jury Essay Contest Winning Essay
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Jury trials are important
because they provide the
American people the
protections that citizens
of other countries lack.
The following is the winning essay
from the HCBA Trial & Litigation
Section’s annual student jury essay
contest. Congratulations to Agata
Kuzniar for the winning submission.
I
believe that jury trials are
important to American
Jurisprudence because they
provide the means through
which a true democracy can be
expressed. While many countries
have a democratic legal system,
the outcome of cases is decided by
judges who are also triers of facts.
At first glance, such legal systems
appear democratic in nature.
Nonetheless, the idea of true
democracy is for the voices of
citizens to be heard. In order
for this to occur, citizens must
be provided with the ability to
participate in the decision-making
process rather than allocating all
of the power in an elite group
of individuals. Jury trials are a
crucial component of a true and
well-functioning democracy.
As a current law student born
and raised in Poland, I became
fascinated with the American
legal system. Poland, like most
European countries, follows civil
law. Polish citizens do not have
the right to ask for a jury of
their own peers, and there is no
presumption of innocence until
proven guilty. I have always
admired the American legal system
for providing it