Right to Trial by Jury is Necessary to Preserve our Constitutional Rights
By: Darren Penn
Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father of the United States of America, once wrote, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” The constitution that he references, of course, is the U.S. Constitution, which was signed on this date exactly 228 years ago.
However, the history of a jury trial of one’s peers can be traced all the way back to the middle ages. In fact, jury trials were a cornerstone of the Magna Carta, which became one of the first official documents to place strict limitations on the power of the government over the individual and provided that man be governed by the “lawful judgment of his peers.” This proved to be a valuable tool for the English to resist a powerful central government.
Many years later, the British Crown’s interference with the colonists’ right to trial by jury would serve as a rallying point for the colonists against unpopular British laws. In fact, the Declaration of Independence specifically cites the King’s deprivation of the colonists’ right to trial by jury as one of the chief factors behind the movement for American independence.
More than serving as a rallying cry for independence, though, the right to trial by jury has served as a shield for our citizens against assaults on our constitutionally-guaranteed rights.
Even before the First Amendment right to freedom of the press was protected by the Bill of Rights, it was a jury that stood up for the right of a publisher – John Peter Zenger – to print articles critical of a royal governor. And, they were juries of peers that refused to convict their fellow colonists when the British Crown attempted to prosecute them for violating laws that were aimed at weakening the American colonies.
Ultimately, the right to trial by jury would be enshrined in Article III, Section II of the U.S. Constitution, the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the U.S. Constitution in the Bill of Rights and the very first Georgia Constitution of 1777. That right is further guaranteed today in Article I, Section I, Paragraph XI of Constitution of the State of Georgia, which states that the “right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”
The right to trial by jury today remains one of the most powerful tools that Americans have to protect themselves against encroachments on their constitutional rights by the government, powerful special interests or any others who seek to infringe on our liberties. The Sixth Amendment continues to ensure that those accused of a crime have access to a public trial before an independent judiciary, a far cry from the many one-sided trials that the British used in an attempt to quell an American revolution. Likewise, the Seventh Amendment guarantees that anyone can hold accountable any powerful individual or special interest on a level playing field.
Every day, our court system serves as a venue for citizens to fight for their constitutional rights. Whether one is fighting the government to protect his/her freedom of speech or the freedom to practice his or her religion as they see fit, or seeking to protect the right to keep and bear arms, the American courtroom is the only place in which the preservation and affirmation of these constitutional rights can be secured.
As we celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution today, let us not lose sight of the Constitutional Right to Trial by Jury that continues to protect American citizens from attacks on our individual and collective liberties.