Jury on Stage: A Common Law Play

Manfred Holler and Martin Leroch
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Manfred Holler: Institute of SocioEconomics, University of Hamburg

No 2008-1-1220, German Working Papers in Law and Economics from Berkeley Electronic Press

Abstract: Legal processes have a theatrical component to them. They offer an audience (the spectators) and actors (the legal parties, lawyers, as well as the jury and judge) who perform a play on the stage of the courtroom. In this paper we focus on the role of the jury, which appears to be simultaneously audience and actor. As audience, it assures that the power of the judge is limited. As actor, the jury is able to play its role in such a way as to incorporate social attitudes into the verdict. Exploring this theatrical component may shed new light on the debate whether juries are a "good" way of finding legal settlements. Further, it could indicate how legal processes are perceived by the public. As our line of argument builds on Adam Smith's moral and legal philosophy, the analysis may also contribute to the understanding of one of the building blocks of Smith's philosophy, namely the impartial spectator.

Keywords: Jury; Legal Proceedings; Adam Smith; Impartial Spectator; Theatre (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 B12 B30 K40 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Journal Article: Jury on stage: a common law play (2010)
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