Lesson 21

Jury service: an important job and a rewarding experience

The right to trial by a jury of our fellow citizens is one of our most important rights and is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Your job as a juror is to listen to all the evidence presented at trial and to “decide the facts”, that is, to decide what really, happened. The judge, on the other hand, “decides the law” – that is, makes decisions on legal issues that come up during the trial. For example, the judge may have to decide whether you and the other jurors may hear certain evidence or whether one lawyer may ask a witness a certain question. You should not try to decide these legal issues, sometimes you will even be asked to leave the courtroom while they are being decided. Both your job and that of the judge must be done well if our system of trial by jury is to work. In order to do your job you do not need any special knowledge or ability. It is enough that you keep an open mind, concentrate on the evidence being presented, use your common sense, and be fair and honest. Finally, you should not be influenced by sympathy or prejudice: it is vital that you be impartial with regard to all people and all ideas.

Many jurors find that it is exciting to learn about this most important system “from the inside”, and challenging to deal fairly and thoroughly with the cases they hear. We hope that you, too, find your experience as a juror to be interesting and satisfying.

New vocabulary:

jury – присяжные заседатели

trial by a jury – суд с присяжными заседателями

juror – присяжный заседатель

evidence – свидетельское показание

at trial – в суде, на судебном заседании

legal issues – правовые вопросы

witness – свидетель

courtroom – зал судебных заседаний

impartial - беспристрастный