The American system of trial by jury, citizens in charge of their own destiny, that is the essence of America.

One of the areas where this remains true is our right to be judged by our peers.

What is a trial by jury? Where and when did it originate? How can jury service affect the jurors and the parties? Why have trial by jury?

Much of the historical information in this article comes from The Jury, Tool of Kings, Palladium of Liberty by Lloyd E. Moore.

Why do we ask untrained amateurs to decide complicated controversies involving one’s money, one’s family, one’s life or even one’s sacred honor?

How can we allow these decisions to be made in secret without requiring even an explanation of how the verdict was reached?

A jury in Posey County generally is six or twelve people drawn randomly from computer lists by the Jury Administrator, John Emhuff.

Each month names are drawn for citizens to serve in Circuit and Superior courts. A questionnaire is sent to each prospective juror who returns it. When a jury is needed, either Judge Almon or I decide how many to call in based on the type of case (the sheriff calls them). These citizens report to either the courthouse or the coliseum where the attorneys question them and can excuse a certain number without cause based on the type of case.

This process is described by the French term, voir dire, which means to speak and to hear. The amount of time needed depends on the type of case.

Those who are called but not selected receive mileage and $15 a day; if chosen, they receive $40.00 a day plus mileage.

One of the earliest juries was in Egypt about four thousand years ago where minor offenses by workmen were tried by eight fellow workers (four from each side of the Nile).

Aeschylus in his play Eumenides about 500 B.C. described the trial of Orestes by the gods for murdering his mother, Clytemnestra. You may recall that during Agamemnon’s service in the Trojan War, his wife took several lovers and when Agamemnon came home, she murdered him. This upset Orestes who murdered her. Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom, convened twelve citizens of Athens to try him. They split six-six and Athena broke the tie and voted for acquittal.

The Romans about 450 B.C., the Anglo-Saxons about 450 A.D. and the Normans around 1066 A.D. all had jury systems of one kind or another. Our jury system has its antecedents in English law beginning about the time of Aethelred in 865 A.D. In 1609, King James I’s instructions for the government of the Colony of Virginia guaranteed jury trial to those charged with all capital crimes.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 provided that civil and criminal cases could be tried by jury. New York (New Amsterdam) in 1664 secured trial by jury. Pennsylvania in 1673 provided for juries of six or seven members and in 1682, twelve-man juries of one’s peers were a right in capital cases and challenges to those chosen were guaranteed.

The First Continental Congress in 1774 declared each colony had the right, "especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers." In 1775, the first session of the American Stamp Act Congress decreed: "That trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies."

In June 1776 the Constitution of Virginia decreed: "That in all criminals (trials) a man has a right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his peers who must make a unanimous finding of guilt."

The United States Constitution, effective in 1789, and the Bill of Rights were replete with the guarantee to trial by jury. The American Jury System referred back to the Magna Carta of 1215. In the United States Supreme Court case of Thompson v. Utah (1898) it was held that: "When the Magna Carta declared no freeman should be deprived of life, liberty or property but by the judgment of his peers or by the law of the land, it referred to a trial by twelve jurors." Indiana has its own jury guarantee by constitution, statute, common law and court rule.

We have to face the following truths about juries: They are sometimes inefficient, expensive and inconvenient, wrong, and yes, even sometimes unfair and biased. Much the same is true of judges.

However, Thomas Jefferson had the proper perspective when he declared common citizens must be involved in the execution of their laws through their judicial process. It is not just justice in the individual case that is important. People must stay involved in their own destinies and their country’s. Except for juries our entire judicial system is in the hands of a few highly trained judges and attorneys.