JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
OPINION: 2,500 years in the making: Why juries matter
Our New Mexico Supreme Court recently recognized May 4-8 as Juror Appreciation Week in New Mexico. The Supreme Court declared, among other proclamations, that the obligation and privilege to serve as a juror is as fundamental to our democracy as the right to vote. The court went on to state that it was appropriate for the judiciary to express appreciation for the jury system and for the tens of thousands of citizens who have reported for jury service when summoned.
Jury trials have long been an integral and important cornerstone of every known democratic society. Trial by jury can be traced as far back as 2,500 years ago to Athens, Greece. The purpose of juries was to promote democratic accountability by allowing citizens to participate directly in the justice system. In public cases, the citizen-led juries typically were comprised of 500-plus jurors.
Imagine if those jurors had to deliberate in a closed jury room until they reached a unanimous verdict. Fortunately for the jurors back then, voting was by secret ballot and a simple majority determined the outcome.
Our own American jury system was established in the early 17th century. The first recorded colonial jury trial occurred in 1630 in the Plymouth Colony. Based upon the English common law, the colonists incorporated trial by jury into the American judicial system by 1623 and later formalized it in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Over the years, the right to a jury trial in both criminal and civil cases has been codified, modified and tweaked on both the federal and state levels. By and large, however, the jury trial process continues to be an integral mainstay of this country鈥檚 justice system. Although the majority of criminal and civil cases ultimately are resolved prior to trial, if the parties to a case need and want a jury trial, they receive one.
It is telling that the overwhelming majority of people in both criminal and civil cases request trial by jury. It is rarely waived. There is an undeniable, almost visceral, preference by people to have civil conflicts or criminal accusations resolved by a jury of one鈥檚 peers as opposed to a judge. A jury decision ensures confidence in and legitimacy to the judicial process.
Trials by juries obviously are made possible only through the participation of all citizens summoned to jury duty. Without such engagement, there would be no way to provide this most important constitutional and statutory right.
Ultimately, there is one very pragmatic reason for each of us to report for jury duty when we are called. By serving as jurors today, we ensure that trial by jury will be ongoing and available to us when and if we ever need it ourselves. The significant contribution of the jury trial on our democratic form of government cannot be overstated. As Thomas Jefferson declared, 鈥淚 consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.鈥�
Daniel Ramczyk is a judge in the 2nd Judicial District Court.
