Audiobook

Essay on the Trial by Jury

FOR more than six hundred years that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215 there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge of the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such laws.

So begins Spooner's epic on the jury, its origins and history. Spooner examines the history and powers of a jury, from the magna carta in King John's time, to the practices in the 18th century. A classic work on law, Spooner argues that the decision of the jury is sovereign over the king's law. (Summary by Bethanne)

Year of Publication: 1852Genres: Essays & Short Works , Law , History , Political Science

Running Time: 11 hours 28 minutes 41 seconds

#	Chapter Name
1	Notes BethAnne	2:55
2	Ch 1 – The Right of Juries to Judge the Justice of Laws BethAnne	43:15
3	Ch 2 – Part 1 – Trial by Jury Defined by Magna Carta BethAnne	53:39
4	Ch 2 – Part 2 – Language of Magna Carta BethAnne	49:16
5	Ch 3 – Part 1 – Additionnal Proofs of the Rights and Duties of Jurors BethAnne	41:27
6	Ch 3 – Part 2 – Ancient Common Law Juries were Mere Courts of Conscience BethAnne	23:31
7	Ch 3 – Part 3 – Ancient Common Law Juries were Mere Courts of Conscience BethAnne	43:59
8	Ch 3 – Part 4 – Oaths of Jurors BethAnne	30:11
9	Ch 3 – Part 5 – Right of Jurors to fix the Sentence BethAnne	33:31
10	Ch 3 – Part 6 – The Coronation Oath BethAnne	25:49
11	Ch 4 – The Rights and Duties of Juries in Civil Suits BethAnne	39:14
12	Ch 5 – Part 1 – Objections Answered BethAnne	26:58
13	Ch 5 – Part 2 – Objections Answered BethAnne	25:17
14	Ch 6 – Juries of the Present Day Illegal BethAnne	43:41
15	Ch 7 – Part 1 – Illegal Judges BethAnne	26:27
16	Ch 7 – Part 2 – Illegal Judges BethAnne	33:38
17	Ch 8 – Free Administration of Justice BethAnne	15:06
18	Ch 9 – The Criminal Intent BethAnne	31:46
19	Ch 10 – Moral Considerations for Jurors BethAnne	7:10
20	Ch 11 – Authority of Magna Carta BethAnne	41:04
21	Ch 12 – Limitations Imposed Upon the Majority by the Trial by Jury BethAnne	41:31
22	Appendix BethAnne	9:16