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  1. #1
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    May 2007
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    Default Judges and the Jury System

    Hello everyone! I am currently taking the South Australia Matriculation (SAM) program in Malaysia where Legal Studies is one of my subject.
    I am doing a research on the topic: Are judges able to make a more just outcome than the juries? I would really appreciate everyone's feedback. Do you think that with the independence of judiciary and the doctrine of precedent, a judge is more likely to make a more just and fair outcome? Also, do you think that judges make more just outcome as they are required to provide a valid reason for their decision, as opposed to the juries whose reasons for their decisions are kept secret?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Judges and the Jury System

    Quote Quoting ms_schs
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    Hello everyone! I am currently taking the South Australia Matriculation (SAM) program in Malaysia where Legal Studies is one of my subject.
    I am doing a research on the topic: Are judges able to make a more just outcome than the juries? I would really appreciate everyone's feedback. Do you think that with the independence of judiciary and the doctrine of precedent, a judge is more likely to make a more just and fair outcome? Also, do you think that judges make more just outcome as they are required to provide a valid reason for their decision, as opposed to the juries whose reasons for their decisions are kept secret?
    I am curious about why you would pose this question on a forum to receive answers from an assortment of persons who may or may not have any legal background. Do you think that your research would be more credible if you reviewed cases and came up with your own conclusions? You may consider narrowing your topic to an area of law. Or suggesting cases where a decision was made by a judge that compared to outcomes tried by jury.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Judges and the Jury System

    A year or so ago we had a bunch of these students posting inquiries in the forum. A lot of the inquiries looked like homework problems. A few students claimed that they had a class assignment to try to find answers to questions like this through Internet forums and services.

    The fairness of a judge's verdict versus a jury's verdict is going to be somewhat contextual. That is, in some countries I would be more trusting of a judge than in others, although in those countries where I would be least trusting of a judge I suspect that I would not have any right to a jury, which moots the question.

    Conventional wisdom is that a criminal defendant is more likely to get a fair shake from a jury, than from a judge who is likely to have once been a prosecutor and who is assumed to have "heard it all before" and thus be skeptical of a defendant's stories and excuses. Statistically speaking, it appears that judges on the whole do give defendants a fair hearing, and some argue that they are more likely to acquit than jurors, but there's no scientific means available to accurately assess the difference.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Judges and the Jury System

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    A year or so ago we had a bunch of these students posting inquiries in the forum. A lot of the inquiries looked like homework problems. A few students claimed that they had a class assignment to try to find answers to questions like this through Internet forums and services.

    The fairness of a judge's verdict versus a jury's verdict is going to be somewhat contextual. That is, in some countries I would be more trusting of a judge than in others, although in those countries where I would be least trusting of a judge I suspect that I would not have any right to a jury, which moots the question.

    Conventional wisdom is that a criminal defendant is more likely to get a fair shake from a jury, than from a judge who is likely to have once been a prosecutor and who is assumed to have "heard it all before" and thus be skeptical of a defendant's stories and excuses. Statistically speaking, it appears that judges on the whole do give defendants a fair hearing, and some argue that they are more likely to acquit than jurors, but there's no scientific means available to accurately assess the difference.
    Ahh... I see. You always attempt to help answer a question even when the task seems enormous.

    A judge vs. jury? Independence of judiciary and doctrine of precedent? Valid judicial decisions or secret decisions of jury? They seem to be pretty complex questions stated so simply.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Judges and the Jury System

    Quote Quoting deadlock
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    I am curious about why you would pose this question on a forum to receive answers from an assortment of persons who may or may not have any legal background. Do you think that your research would be more credible if you reviewed cases and came up with your own conclusions?
    It does not matter if the people posting back replies have any legal background or not. My research requires active participation which include forums where I get feedback from anyone about my topic.

    Quote Quoting deadlock
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    You may consider narrowing your topic to an area of law. Or suggesting cases where a decision was made by a judge that compared to outcomes tried by jury.
    Thanks...I'm considering that.

  6. #6
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    May 2007
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    Default Re: Judges and the Jury System

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    A year or so ago we had a bunch of these students posting inquiries in the forum. A lot of the inquiries looked like homework problems. A few students claimed that they had a class assignment to try to find answers to questions like this through Internet forums and services.
    I can assure you that this is not a simple homework problem. It is a big part of my internal assessment which requires active participation, including interviews and visits to courts. Very tough project indeed.

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