The Jury as a Political Institution

Key Insight

The jury is primarily a political institution, not merely a judicial one, serving as a form of popular sovereignty. It involves a random selection of citizens temporarily invested with the right to judge, and its use in criminal cases inherently introduces a republican element into government. By placing the people, or a segment thereof, on the judge's bench, the jury system effectively puts control of society into their hands. In the United States, this system is a direct and extreme consequence of the dogma of popular sovereignty, akin to universal suffrage, both ensuring the majority reigns.

While criminal juries operate intermittently, civil juries are constantly visible, affecting diverse interests, and engaging all citizens in daily usage. This frequent exposure habituates the human mind to the jury's forms, integrating it with the very idea of justice. The civil jury's continuous presence was crucial in preserving English liberties. It imparts judge-like habits of mind, fostering respect for judicial decisions, instilling the idea of law, and teaching equity—where judging others implies a potential for being judged. This system also encourages responsibility and combats individual egoism.

The jury functions as a 'free school,' continually educating citizens on their rights and providing practical legal instruction from enlightened individuals, lawyers, and judges. This prolonged experience, particularly with civil juries, is considered the primary reason for Americans' practical intelligence and political good sense. Crucially, the civil jury empowers the aristocratic body of lawyers and magistrates to moderate popular impulses. In civil trials, jurors defer to the judge's intelligence and guidance, imbuing his rendered judgments with both societal authority (from the jurors) and the authority of reason and law (from the judge). Thus, the jury, while appearing to diminish magistracy rights, actually establishes and extends the judge's moral empire, effectively spreading the legal spirit throughout society.