Although the right to trial by jury is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, in recent years both criminal and civil juries have been criticized as incompetent, biased, and irresponsible. For example, the O.J. Simpson criminal jury's verdict produced a racial divide in opinions about that trial. And many Americans still hold strong views about the jury that awarded millions of dollars to a woman who spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself. It's said that there are "judicial hellholes" where local juries provide "jackpot justice" in medical malpractice and product liability cases with corporate defendants. Are these claims valid? This monumental and comprehensive volume reviews over fifty years of empirical research on civil and criminal juries and returns a verdict that strongly supports the jury system. Rather than relying on anecdotes, Vidmar and Hans-renowned scholars of the jury system-place the jury system in its historical and contemporary context, giving the stories behind important trials while providing fact-based answers to critical questions. How do juries make decisions and how do their verdicts compare to those of trial judges and technical experts? What roles do jury consultants play in influencing trial outcomes? Can juries understand complex expert testimony? Under which circumstances do capital juries decide to sentence a defendant to die? Are juries biased against doctors and big business? Should juries be allowed to give punitive damages? How do juries respond to the insanity defense? Do jurors ignore the law? Finally, the authors consider various suggestions for improving the way that juries are asked to carry out their duties. After briefly comparing the American jury to its counterparts in other nations, they conclude that our jury system, despite occasional problems, is, on balance, fair and democratic, and should remain an indispensable component of the judicial process for the foreseeable future.

"In this work, Hans and Vidmar review the historical evolution of the trial jury, the contemporary role of the jury in the American criminal justice system, and future prospects for the jury as an institutional force." (Choice).

This unique volume on modern jury systems presents in-depth coverage of juries in Australia, England, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the United States. Coverage involves civil as well as criminal juries. There is also a chapter on the newly revived criminal jury systems of Spain and Russia, and a chapter on potential revival of the jury that once existed in Japan. An introductory chapter provides a historical sketch of the development of the jury and a framework that is useful in comparing the jury systems discussed in the book. A final chapter surveys 46 other contemporary jury systems in Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, Asia, the South Pacific, South America, the Caribbean and Europe. The book has enormous value for students of comparative law and for practitioners and policy makers who are concerned about issues such as `free press versus fair trial', pretrial prejudice, racial or ethnic bias, and complex evidence.

In this work, Hans and Vidmar review the historical evolution of the trial jury, the contemporary role of the jury in the American criminal justice system, and future prospects for the jury as an institutional force.