An Essay on the Trial by Jury

by Lysander Spooner

Satisfactory evidence, though not all the evidence, of what the Common Law trial by jury really is'

Genres: Law, Politics, Essays, History

172 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2000

About the author

Lysander Spooner was an American individualist anarchist, entrepreneur, political philosopher, abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, and legal theorist of the nineteenth century. He is also known for competing with the U.S. Post Office with his American Letter Mail Company, which was forced out of business by the United States government. He has been identified by some contemporary writers as an anarcho-capitalist,while at least one writer is convinced that his advocacy of self-employment over working for an employer for wages qualifies him as an anti-capitalist or a socialist, notwithstanding his support for private ownership of the means of production and a free-market economy.

Reviews

[Ed Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Role of the Jury

A history lesson, as well as a powerful argument that the jury is designed as the fourth branch of government, and the best protection against tyranny and overreach by the majority. Most of the positions taken are controversial in the 21st Century, but are worth understanding in light of current events. The role of jury nullification is threaded throughout. A heavy but good read.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most radical case for jury nullification I've ever heard.

It gets pretty technical so if you arent interested in the technicalities of anglo saxon common law, stay away. This can be seen as a version of "No Treason" written for the Magna Carta instead of the U.S. Constitution.

And again after reading this I cant understand why infoshop anarchists want to lay claim to Spooner. He explicitly rebuffs the notion of majority rule and says that debt evasion is violence!