Moral authority of juries: A forgotten aspect of citizenship

This thesis examines the ethical and historical foundations for a Fully Informed Jury Amendment, legislation that recognizes the "nullification" power of the jury. The ethical discussion focuses on the dual role of the jury deliberation process paralleling the distinction between natural law and legalism. Hobbesian equity is contrasted with Aristotelian equity to further discussion of the ethical rationale for acknowledging a juror's duty to act according to his conscience for the sake of justice. The historical tradition of "trial by jury" as a political process is traced from its inception by Henry II through the present with emphasis on the jury's function as a moral check on government. It is advocated that legal protection be extended to the right of citizens to exercise the "nullification" power in order to maintain a highly regarded system of law based on equity and founded on the moral integrity of its citizens.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Ethics and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1995

Author dc:creator

• Beganyi, Mary B

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/525

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1524