Jury History

Jury History in the United States

Jury History

Introduction to Jury History

The exact origin of the jury system is not known; various writers have attributed it to different European peoples who at an early period developed methods of trial not unlike the early jury trials in England. It seems probable that the jury in England was derived directly from the Norman institution of recognition by sworn inquest, whereby 12 knights were chosen to serve as recognitors. Their duty was to inquire into various matters of interest to the new rulers of England that might be the subject of public inquiry. These matters of interest might include the taxation of a subject.

As early as the 12th century, it had become customary for suitors in certain cases affecting the title to real estate to apply to the King’s Court for the summoning of recognitors to ascertain, either from their own knowledge or on inquiry from others, the truth of the matter at issue; the verdict of the court, if unanimous, was accepted as conclusive. It was natural that other questions of fact arising in the King’s Court should be disposed of in a similar manner, and the gradual transformation of the recognitors into the jury in common law followed as a matter of course. Originally, the jury members were not only judges of fact, but were also witnesses who were selected because of their knowledge of the customs and the people of the locality, and possibly of the suitors themselves. In the early 15th century, however, the judges of the courts of common law restricted the jury to the performance of its function as a judge of fact based on the evidence submitted in an action. This is the single function of the jury in modern practice.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Guide to Jury History


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