All Americans have to right to a trial by jury. A trial by jury signifies one of the freedoms on which america was founded. Thomas Jefferson though it so important that he stated it in his inaugural address, ".the blood of our heroes has been devoted to the attainment of trial by jury." In order to completely understand how valuable this freedom is, on emust understand the history of trial by jury, the importance of trial by jury to America's founding fathers, and the reference toa trial by jury in the sixth amendment in the constitution.
The history of trial by jury goes back to the 1200's when kind Henry II of england has appointed groups of men called juries for each district. A grand jury consisted of twenty-five or more men who submitted the names of suspected criminals to the judge. Later the petit jury of twelve disputes over land. The feudal procedures of ordeal and combat still tried criminal cases . In time though, petit juries decided criminal cases too. Soon, the king's law replaced feudal law.
Once trial by jury was established in England, AMerica's founding fathers knew this to be a fair and more impratial system of justice, as opposed to simply having a judge. The Revolutionary War was fought for freedom and rights, such as a trial by jury. Americans found their rights and freedoms so important that they wre willing to die for them. The first trial by jury was in 1734 in New York when accusations were made toward John Peter Zenger for writing articles that were damaging to the governments reputation.
Trial by jury is so important that the framers of the constitution added it in the Bill of Rights. Americas recognized this as one of the freedoms that they had fought for in the Revolutionary War. Even today, it is a freedom all Americans value. The Sixth Amendment guarentees in all criminal prosecutions that the accused has a right to a speedy and public trial.
