Project Gutenberg 1998-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 59 Spooner, Lysander 1808 1887 An Essay on the Trial By Jury "An Essay on the Trial By Jury" by Lysander Spooner is a legal and philosophical treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work discusses the historical evolution and the fundamental principles of the trial by jury, asserting it as a crucial safeguard against governmental oppression and tyranny. Spooner elaborates on the importance of jurors not only determining the facts of a case but also judging the justice of the laws themselves, emphasizing the jury's power to invalidate unjust laws. The opening of the text establishes Spooner's intentions to argue that trial by jury serves as a bulwark against despotism. He begins by outlining the rights and responsibilities of juries as defined by the Common Law and the Magna Carta, advocating that juries must have the authority to judge the justice of laws. Spooner insists that if a jury is unable to exercise its fundamental right to evaluate whether a law is just or unjust, then the very concept of trial by jury becomes meaningless and merely becomes a tool for governmental oppression. He lays a foundation for a broader discussion that will unfold throughout the essay, critiquing contemporary judicial practices and asserting the necessity for juries to remain independent from government influence. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Jury -- United States Jury -- Great Britain K Text Browsing: History - American Browsing: History - British Browsing: Law & Criminology Browsing: Politics 612976 612985 2024-09-01T08:49:16.019263 2023-10-01T08:08:06.087925 text/html text/html 612969 612978 2024-09-01T08:49:16.239289 2023-10-01T08:08:06.285878 text/html text/html 262295 2024-09-01T08:49:22.864226 application/epub+zip 270301 2024-09-01T08:49:17.720242 application/epub+zip 270302 2024-09-01T08:49:16.857303 application/epub+zip 462990 2024-09-01T08:49:27.141248 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 436909 2024-09-01T08:49:22.258259 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 433065 2022-08-01T08:24:15.156755 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 580137 580165 2024-09-01T08:49:15.615334 2023-10-01T08:08:05.737889 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 571410 2015-04-02T14:20:26 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 194624 2015-04-02T14:20:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18019 2024-09-01T08:49:27.278195 application/rdf+xml 12542 2024-09-01T08:49:17.203266 image/jpeg 3074 2024-09-01T08:49:17.026247 image/jpeg 261681 2024-09-01T08:49:16.288280 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia