At Stardate 20030626.0014, Jan Coffey wrote:
> That has nothing to do with the concept of trial by jury. The jury system > doesn't have any more safeguards against an innocent man being convicted > than our system has.
Your system has profesional judges who make decisions that is to much power,
A trained professional is far more likely to make an informed decision than the untrained Joe Average. Unlike Joe Average, the professional knows what he's talking about, so it's much safer to trust *him* with such power than to trust Joe Average with that power.
we in the US do not trust our governemnt that much.
You're contradicting yourself. On one hand you say you don't trust the government (in this case, a member of the Judicial branch), but on the other hand you've stated that the three branches (Legislative, Executive and Judicial) keep each other in check and prevent each other from abusing their power.
> >While this may not allways work in the US, it is still IMNSHAO :) much > >less likely than in ~many~ other countries, > > Can you provide evidence for this? How is, say, a Dutch court more likely > to convict an innocent man than a US trial-by-jury court?
Come on. it's obvious. -A- judge can be in on it, paid off, lean one way or another due to political perswation, religion, personal beliefs.
All this also applies to any member of a jury. A jury decision must be unanimous; if eleven members believe the defendant is guilty, and the twelth member is being paid to vote "not guilty"... well, you figure it out.
A Jury picked and agreed to by the prosicution and defence as much less likelyhood of being swayed do to anythign but the evidence, and -proof- of guilt beond a reasonable doubt. Further more they have to all agree.
Besides, how would you support this with a study?
Public outcry about an innocent man being convicted is just as loud here as it is in the US. So, all you have to do is tally how many of those cases have been reported.
Jeroen van Baardwijk
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