The purpose of law is to define behavior and conduct that is acceptable in a society. “Obedience of the law is demanded; not asked as a favor,”(1) was said by Theodore Rosevelt in regards to how important the law is to a country. This is to ensure that people of a society are living in a place where they are free of fear, and able to reside in peace. Crime can be found throughout that world and is an unfortunate part of society, which must be dealt with in order to prevent the demise of law and order in a society.
Martin Luther King Jr. said “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. ”(2) Individuals believed to have committed an offence against the law must be found guilty in a court of law to receive their punishment. The jury system provides a definitive conclusion to the innocence of those who have been accused of a crime.
Having the jury system is effective and useful because Canada prides itself in its value of democracy which is shown through the involvement in justice, it allows for the peers of an accused to hear the entire facts of a case and the fate of the accused is not in the hands of solely one individual who may have conflicting opinions and values than that of the accused. In the following, the reasons for having the jury system become an integral part of the Canadian Justice System. The involvement of a jury is important because it allows for a fair conclusion to trials.
To begin, Canada having the jury system allows for Canadains to have an active role in their justice system which is crucial in ensureing that there societial veiws and values are upheld. Canada takes great pride in ensuring every individual that has to appeear before the court for offecnes is given a fair trial. Having a democratic government enables the citizens of a country to elect those who will lead them, and those elected vote on issues affecting their country and its citizens. Being an active citizen, demonstrates how invovled you are with society.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy stated “ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. ”(3) Based on this quote it is evident that being an active citizen is very important and jury duty is one of the most commons ways that this can be accomplished. Canda is known as a country where the views and vaklues of citizens are taken in consideration when deciding opn what is consideried right or worng. Having the jury makes it more effiecnet because it follows the reuglations to a fair trial and and to ensure justice is served.
Although it is important for citizens to play an active role in their society, it is also important that there is no bias. In addition,when dealing with circumstances in which a person or group has committed an offence against society it is important that there is an unbiased trial. this means that the people involved are not aware of the case before hand, this allows them to make decisions based on evidence and allowable admissions from witnesses. Having a jury is effective as the jurors are randomly selected.
John Amery said “That is why I come forward tonight without any political label, without any bias, but just simply as an Englishman to say to you: a crime is being committed against civilization. ” (4)This presents the idea that the jury also is basing there decsiions on the cases on facts and evidence and not bias opinons. Their can be many influences that effect the decions made in a trial but having a jury unaware of the crime, case, or unaware of who the accused is allows the possibility of a fair trial.
Curt Weldon stated, “The mainstream media has its own agenda. They do not want to print the facts. They have an agenda, they have a slant, they have a bias. It is outrageous to me. ”(5) This relates to the idea that people can easily be swayed by false facts that may be written about certain things, which can alter a persons percepective on it. We have juries in many cases, as they are unaware of any details relating to the case so their opinions do not swy toward one side prior to all the facts and admissable evidence being displayed in a court of law.
Although it is important for their to be no biases in the courtroom, it should also be stated that the decision on someone’s fate should not be decided solely by one person. Lastly, having a jury in place to decide the fate of an individual who is accused of committing an offence, allows that individual to have a fair trial. Having only a judge decide the fate of a person can be conflicting because the judge may have opinons and vlaues that differ from the accused causing there to be a unfair verdict.
Having twelve people searching for the truth rather then only one allows for a better judgement. In addition a jury consists if everyday people who all want to make sure justice is served where it should be. The objective of the defence is to raise a reasonable doubt and protect the rights of the accused. Having twelve ppl decide if a person is innocent or guilty, allows for one to have a fair trial. In a jury trial all members of the jury must agree on a verdict, meaning that the facts presented and the testimonies provided undoubtedly prove the accused is guilty.
Having only a judge can be difficult because there may be presecdents for cases that are similar to the one they are hearing which may sway or push for a certain decision regardless of how it applies in the specific case. Individuals who have trial by jury usually feel that they are more likely to have to truth revealed because there are so many people that are trying to find the truth that concelaing proves to be much more difficult then if only one person needed to be convinced.
Dave Barry is quoted as saying “We operate under a jury system in this country, and as much as we complain about it, we have to admit that we know of no better system, except possibly flipping a coin. ”(6) Through this quote it is explained that the jury system does not have an equivalent. All jurors must be convinced that a crime has been comitted, instead of flipping a coin which in this case he may be comparing it to having only one person decide the outcome.
This is because they will either say guilty or not guilty, which is just like flipping a coin where the result is either heads or tails. Therefore having a group of indiviuals decide the outcome of a case is more effective because it not based on one person who may be compelled to tbe more leniant towards one side rather than the other. In conclusion, having the jury system in Canada is an effective way of determining the fate of the indiviudals accused of committing a crime against society without them having to face injustice.
Canada prides itself inbeing a democratic country and having the public be invovled in makingn their community a peaceful safe place to live. Having a jury means that there is much less chance for biased verdicts because they are random individuals who are chosen to veiw cases that are not known to them. Moreover having twelve people searching for the truth is better than a lone person. Finding the truth can prove to be a difficult task but having more than one person deciding if what is displayed is truth is a great way of preserving justice within our community.