Trial by Jury: The Seventh Amendment and Anglo-American Special Juries Contributor(s): Oldham, James (Author) |
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ISBN: 0814762042 ISBN-13: 9780814762042 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $88.11 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2006 Annotation: View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction. This piecemeal research is interesting to the extent that the reader is interested in reconstructing the past "This first-rate work of legal history meets the high expectations of those familiar with James Oldham's scholarship, and bears those hallmarks of excellence that we associate with that scholarship: total mastery of the manuscript and other sources, lucid exposition, fresh perspective, and sound insight. Illuminating not only the history of the jury, but the contemporary significance and judicial use of that history, this book will be enlightening for the non-specialist, and a boon to the legal historian." "Essential reading for anyone interested in trial by jury. Oldham speaks with authority about who the jurors were and what they decided. Surprisingly, he supports a 'complexity exception' to the Seventh Amendment's jury trial guarantee in civil cases. His carefully-documented history of both male and female juries of experts is uniquely valuable. No comparable work exists." "An impressive achievement by the leading historian of eighteenth century English law. Meticulously researched and relevant both to historical and modern debates, this book deserves a wide readership." "Oldham wonderfully complicates our historical image of the trial jury enshrined in the Sixth and Seventh Amendments of the Bill of Rights. EarlyEnglish common law summoned juries of women, foreigners, experts, tradesmen, and neighbors, all deliberately chosen to bring their particular knowledge or experience to court. More than any other scholar, Oldham has revealed the manuscript sources that illuminate the context of English trial practice at the time the Bill of Rights was drafted in the newly-independent United States." "Not only legal historians but also practicing historians have a special interest in the subject of this book. One gets a picture of the plasticity of eighteenth-century jury practice that has not been understood." Oldhams knowledge of the subject matter is encyclopedic, and his investigation has unearthed voluminous material on the historical workings of juries.[H]is research is sure to be cited in support of future attempts to curtail the use of jury trials. Those who support the existing civil justice system will ignore it at their peril. While the right to be judged by one's peers in a court of law appears to be a hallmark of American law, protected in civil cases by the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, the civil jury is actually an import from England. Legal historian James Oldham assembles a mix of his signature essays and new work on the history of jury trial, tracing how trial by jury was transplanted to America and preserved in the Constitution. Trial by Jury begins with a rigorous examination of English civil jury practices in the late eighteenth century, including how judges determined one's right to trial by jury andwho composed the jury. Oldham then considers the extensive historical use of a variety of "special juries," such as juries of merchants for commercial cases and juries of women for claims of pregnancy. Special juries were used for centuries in both English and American law, although they are now considered antithetical to the idea that American juries should be drawn from jury pools that reflect reasonable cross-sections of their communities. An introductory overview addresses the relevance of Anglo-American legal tradition and history in understanding America's modern jury system. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Law | Jury - Law | Constitutional - Law | Civil Procedure |
Dewey: 347.737 |
LCCN: 2005036696 |
Physical Information: 1.08" H x 6.34" W x 9" (1.37 lbs) 355 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: While the right to be judged by one's peers in a court of law appears to be a hallmark of American law, protected in civil cases by the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, the civil jury is actually an import from England. Legal historian James Oldham assembles a mix of his signature essays and new work on the history of jury trial, tracing how trial by jury was transplanted to America and preserved in the Constitution. |
Contributor Bio(s): Oldham, James: - James Oldham is St. Thomas More Professor of Law and Legal History at Georgetown University Law Center. His books include English Common Law in the Age of Mansfield. |