4 ms·

That makes a jury sound like a bad option, until you stop and think about what the other option is.

• JoeSmithson 7y ago
  Other options are also perfectly good legal systems (France, Germany etc)
  • walshemj 7y ago
    So what reasons do you have for preferring an inquisitorial system?
• Ididntdothis 7y ago
  I have been on juries twice and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. In one case there was an expert witness that made claims about light during dusk which i was pretty sure was questionable based on my photography experience. But there is no way to challenge such statements if the defense lawyer doesn’t do it and even then it probably costs a lot of money to find an opposing expert witness. Most defendants won’t have that money. As a juror you are supposed to judge only by what has been presented in court. But this leaves a lot of room for bullshit experts. I think there need to be some nationwide standards about accuracy of different methods like alcohol tests, speed traps and especially forensics where I have read that a lot of completely false methods are being used to convict people. The judge should have the ability to call out such things based on established scientific evidence and inform the jury.
  • mrguyorama 7y ago
    I'm pretty sure a judge can call an expert witness's bullshit, but that requires a judge to be an equal expert in that field, which is a terribly high standard.
• bonoboTP 7y ago
  > until you stop and think about what the other option is. You mean the system used in most of Europe? Seems to be working fine. Arguably even better than the US system. Basically decisions by judges, none-to-little plea bargaining, none-to-little bail. You do have the right to appeal to several levels of court. Not having a jury also makes court much less of a drama theater than in the US. Everyone is presenting evidence to a judge, not to random people off the street who have much less developed bullshit detectors and experience in interacting with lawyers and knowing what they are aiming to achieve with any given sentence.
  • RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
    > You mean the system used in most of Europe? It is still too early to make a judgement about Europe. The US has had a democracy close to 231 years. Much of Europe except for the UK, Netherlands, and Switzerland was ruled by absolute monarchs for much of this period.
    • ebiester 7y ago
      Alternatively, we're still stuck on the beta and they've learned from our mistakes.
  • walshemj 7y ago
    Ah the Inquisitorial system that came out of the French revolution no thank - you a bit to open to abuse and technocratic for my British tastes