US juries get verdict wrong in one of six cases
US juries get verdict wrong in one of six cases
So much for US justice: juries get the verdict wrong in one out of six criminal cases and judges don’t do much better, a new study has found.
“Those are really shocking numbers,” said Jack Heinz, a law professor at Northwestern who reviewed the research of his colleague Bruce Spencer, a professor in the statistics department.
Recent high-profile exonerations of scores of death row inmates have undermined faith in the infallibility of the justice system, Heinz said.
I’ve been saying this for years. Democracy and decisions by small groups don’t necessarily arrive at the right answer. These methods were an improvement on the divine right of kings, and that was great 200 years ago. But they’re not the be-all and end-all of government. Sometimes–most of the time actually–majorities get it wrong. Even if they get the right answer, it’s often for the wrong reasons. Without critical thinking and hard evidence, people are subject to persuasion (see Manufacturing Consent), and use “gut feelings,” which is a very messy and imprecise process. Lawyers all know that trials are won and lost with jury selection. So a hand-picked jury (using peremptory challenges) becomes the key–with jury experts bringing psychological profiling into the courtroom to determine outcomes.
I’m not saying change it overnight. But we need to stop putting blind faith in non-experts to resolve critical questions, especially where lives hang in the balance. We need to stop pretending jury selection is anything other than the most cynical strategic manipulation. Instead of letting experts pick a jury of pawns, let’s create a panel of objective experts in guilt, innocence, ethics and civil liability–trained critical thinkers who will put aside their emotions and spot the flaws in the lawyer’s arguments, and examine evidence impartially. This could be a position of great honor, similar to a judge, but professional rather than appointed or elected.
By whatever means necessary, let’s put an end to this inaccurate farce we call “trial by jury.”