Juries and the Transformation of Criminal Justice in France in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Legal History, History, France
Cover of the book Juries and the Transformation of Criminal Justice in France in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries by James M. Donovan, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James M. Donovan ISBN: 9780807895771
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: February 1, 2010
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: James M. Donovan
ISBN: 9780807895771
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: February 1, 2010
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

James Donovan takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the jury in modern France by investigating the legal, political, sociocultural, and intellectual aspects of jury trial from the Revolution through the twentieth century. He demonstrates that these juries, through their decisions, helped shape reform of the nation's criminal justice system.

From their introduction in 1791 as an expression of the sovereignty of the people through the early 1900s, argues Donovan, juries often acted against the wishes of the political and judicial authorities, despite repeated governmental attempts to manipulate their composition. High acquittal rates for both political and nonpolitical crimes were in part due to juror resistance to the harsh and rigid punishments imposed by the Napoleonic Penal Code, Donovan explains.

In response, legislators gradually enacted laws to lower penalties for certain crimes and to give jurors legal means to offer nuanced verdicts and to ameliorate punishments. Faced with persistently high acquittal rates, however, governments eventually took powers away from juries by withdrawing many cases from their purview and ultimately destroying the panels' independence in 1941.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

James Donovan takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the jury in modern France by investigating the legal, political, sociocultural, and intellectual aspects of jury trial from the Revolution through the twentieth century. He demonstrates that these juries, through their decisions, helped shape reform of the nation's criminal justice system.

From their introduction in 1791 as an expression of the sovereignty of the people through the early 1900s, argues Donovan, juries often acted against the wishes of the political and judicial authorities, despite repeated governmental attempts to manipulate their composition. High acquittal rates for both political and nonpolitical crimes were in part due to juror resistance to the harsh and rigid punishments imposed by the Napoleonic Penal Code, Donovan explains.

In response, legislators gradually enacted laws to lower penalties for certain crimes and to give jurors legal means to offer nuanced verdicts and to ameliorate punishments. Faced with persistently high acquittal rates, however, governments eventually took powers away from juries by withdrawing many cases from their purview and ultimately destroying the panels' independence in 1941.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book The Triumph of the Ordinary by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Making Something Happen by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Plain Folk's Fight by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book America's Secret War against Bolshevism by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book John Skelton, Priest As Poet by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book The Lesbian South by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book American Opinion and the Russian Alliance, 1939-1945 by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Jews, Turks, and Infidels by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Allies and Adversaries by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Imagining Medea by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book The Metamorphoses of Apuleius by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book When Sherman Marched North from the Sea by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Written/Unwritten by James M. Donovan
Cover of the book Virginia Woolf and London by James M. Donovan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy