Jury control and avoidance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter addresses ways that legal systems deal with the limitations of juries, either by controlling them or avoiding them. England had a separate legal system, called equity in the Court of Chancery, that used a juryless procedure to decide complicated cases. In the United States in civil cases, pretrial discovery of evidence encourages parties to settle before jury trial, and sometimes judges can award summary judgment without a jury. Almost all countries have virtually abolished civil juries, except the United States. English and American methods of jury control include the law of evidence, judicial instructions on law, and judicial comment on evidence. Appeal of decisions can be a powerful control. In criminal cases, many countries have developed ways around jurors, including abbreviated procedures such as plea bargaining. In the United States, both civil and criminal jury trials are now rare. Some countries have abolished jury trials in all cases.