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32 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 481 (1998-1999)
Jury Room Secrecy: Has the Time Come to Unlock the Door

handle is hein.journals/sufflr32 and id is 491 raw text is: Jury Room Secrecy: Has the Time Come to Unlock the Door? Juries are a great institution, with a proud history. As we approach the 21st century, however, we need to make sure we do not remain so wedded to practices hailing from the 20th, or the 18th, or the 13th, that we make it difficult for juries to do their jobs well. It is my hope that everyone concerned with the proper functioning of our justice system will take this issue seriously, to think hard about ways in which juries can be made to work better, and not to fear change simply because it is different.I I. INTRODUCTION The United States has, from the inception of its Constitution, considered the right to a trial by a jury of one's peers to be a fundamental right.2 The American jury system represents a strong commitment to the belief that a panel consisting of lay members of the community shall be vested with the power to deprive one of their fellow members of his or her property, freedom, or life. Accordingly, when a member of society faces the possibility of losing one of these fundamental rights, a panel of individuals from the community is called upon and entrusted with the power to determine that individual's fate.4 After hearing the evidence presented by the parties, these individuals are permitted to deliberate in secret and report their verdict without offering any reasons for it.5 Not surprisingly, scholars have debated the merits of the jury system throughout American history.6 In addition, courts have also been called upon recently to consider questions regarding the ability of juries to understand the 1. Sandra Day O'Connor, Juries: They May Be Broken, But We Can Fix Them, 44-Jun. FEDERAL LAWYER 20, 25 (1997). 2. See U.S. CONST. amend. VI (securing criminal defendant's right to trial by impartial jury); see also U.S. CONST. amend. Vl1 (preserving right to trial by jury where amount in controversy exceeds threshold requirement). While the Seventh Amendment is not applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, each state has a similar provision preserving a right to a jury trial for civil litigants. See Paul B. Weiss, Comment, Reforming Tort Reform: Is There Substance to the Seventh Amendment?, 38 CATH. U.L. Rsv. 737, 739 (1989). 3. See U.S. CONST. amend. XIV (guaranteeing no individual shall endure deprivation of fundamental right without due process of law). 4. See supra note 2 and accompanying text (explaining individual's right to trial by impartial jury). 5. See United States v. Virginia Erection Corp., 335 F.2d 868, 872 (4th Cir. 1964) (recognizing principle that jurors must deliberate in private and that deliberations must remain secret); see also GuiDo CALABRESI AND PHILLIP BOBBIT, TRAGIC CHOICES 57-64 (1978) (noting jurors not required to explain their decisions). 6. See HARRY KALVEN, JR. AND HANS KEISEL, THE AMERICAN JURY 4 (1966) (listing numerous legal scholars throughout American history who have commented on jury system). Interestingly, the arguments formulated by both sides of the debate point to the same characteristics of the jury system for support. See id.

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