The American Jury
Bulwark of Democracy
Learn about the project
AN ONLINE RESOURCE GUIDE

HISTORY AND PURPOSE




Origins of the American Jury

 

Formation of the American Jury

STRUCTURE

 

Introduction to Trial by Jury

 

The Grand Jury

 

Right of the Accused to Trial by Jury

 

Voir Dire: Creating the Jury

 

Jury of One's Peers

 

Jury Deliberation

ISSUES

 

Evidence

 

Jury Nullification

 

Jury Trials and the Media

 

Jury Damage Awards

 

Comparative Jury Systems

FUTURE

 

Jury in American Society

 

Jury Reform

 

Future of the American Jury

In the American system of government, power derives from the consent of the governed. That power is expressed in two fundamental institutions: the voting booth and the jury box.

"The American Jury: Bulwark of Democracy" is an on-line resource guide for teachers, students, and citizens devoted to explaining the American jury system and its role in American legal, social, and political life. It features lessons, information, and resources developed by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago with high school teachers from California, Colorado, North Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, and Illinois in cooperation with national experts and scholars on the jury system.

"The American Jury" explains the origins and purposes of the jury system in England and its development in America. It shows the different steps of the jury system, from calling people for jury service, through jury selection, the jury's experience in court, and their deliberations toward a verdict. The site also provides historical examples of the jury's strengths and limitations, and how this system has adapted to changes in American law and society. It explores current issues facing the jury system. And it outlines the past and present role that the jury plays in protecting the people from abuses of government.

"The American Jury" was hosted by the Chicago Historical Society and supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency. Additional support with national dissemination was provided by LEXIS-NEXIS and the Molner Foundation.
More about the project ...


Lessons and Activities

Jury Trials for the Classroom

Resources
from the Chicago Historical Society


Web Resources

Print Resources

Site Index

External links to the Web Sites of the project's sponsors. Please use the back button of your brower in order to return.


Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago


Chicago Historical Society


National Endowment for the Himanaities


This Web site was developed by Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago and the Chicago Historical Society as part of "The American Jury: Bulwark of Democracy", a project of Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago funded in part by National Endowment for the Humanities , an independent federal agency.
Web site created by Mila Stoicheva