Unjust laws

Laws can be either just or unjust. Just laws protect human rights, and disobeying just laws for personal gain or of personal disagreement is wrong because it may harm security of other members of a community. The Greek philosopher Socrates claims that someone who breaks the law is “a destroyer of the laws”. Since laws are pillars of society, breaking those laws damages society. But some people believe that certain laws are unjust and should no longer exist.

What is an “unjust law”? According to M.L.King, it is “a code that is out of harmony with the moral law it is a law that degrades human personality”. Unjust laws are laws that compel some people to obey while not requiring others to do the same. These laws are often used by one group to mistreat another group. Some people think that unjust laws should not be obeyed. While it is better to prevent unjust laws from being made, there are many methods by which people can act to change them after they have been enacted. One of these methods is civil disobedience, the deliberate and public violation of an unjust law as a means of protest.

“An unjust law is no law at all”, said St. Augustine, providing the foundation of civil disobedience movement across the globe. During the 1960-70s there were a civil rights movement, an anti-war movement and other several movements in which people claimed that obeying the laws was harmful because the law itself was wrong. The chief theoretician of civil disobedience was Henry David Thoreau, and among its courageous practitioners we know such people as Mahatma Gandhi in India who, while opposing British colonial rule, set formal rules of non-violent civil resistance; or Jamaica singer Bob Marley who saw the injustices taking place in South Africa during 1970s and made his opinion heard through his songs which were very influential.

In the United States the famous leader of civil rights movement was Martin Luther King, who promoted non-violent methods for racial equality.

He organized marches for black’s right to vote, fair hiring, desegregation and other rights. He was arrested and in his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” he called on all Americans to actively but peacefully oppose laws that were morally wrong. Most of the demands were later enacted into the US law. In 1964 King won the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1968 he was assassinated.

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is in reality expressing the highest respect for the laws.”

(M.L.King)

Unit 3

Jury Service

Jurors perform an important role in American system of justice. The protection of rights and liberties in federal courts largely is achieved through the teamwork of judge and jury. You do not need any knowledge of the legal system to be a juror.

The Jury Selection and Service Act establishes the process for selecting jurors. It outlines qualifications a person must meet to serve on a federal jury.

There are two types of juries serving distinct functions in the federal trial courts: trial juries (also known as petit juries), and grand juries.

 A civil petit jury is typically made up of 6 to 12 persons. In a civil case, the role of the jury is to listen to the evidence presented at a trial, to decide whether the defendant injured the plaintiff or otherwise failed to fulfill a legal duty to the plaintiff, and to determine what the compensation or penalty should be. A criminal petit jury is usually made up of 12 members. Criminal juries decide whether the defendant committed the crime as charged. The sentence usually is set by a judge. Verdicts in both civil and criminal cases must be unanimous, although the parties in a civil case may agree to a non-unanimous verdict. A jury's deliberations are conducted in private, out of sight and hearing of the judge, litigants, witnesses, and others in the courtroom.

 A grand jury, which normally consists of 16 to 23 members, has a more specialized function. The United States attorney, the prosecutor in federal criminal cases, presents evidence to the grand jury for them to determine whether there is "probable cause" to believe that an individual has committed a crime and should be put on trial. If the grand jury decides there is enough evidence, it will issue an indictment against the defendant. Grand jury proceedings are not open for public observation.

Potential jurors are chosen from a jury pool generated by random selection of citizens' names from lists of registered voters, or combined lists of voters and people with drivers licenses, in the judicial district. The potential jurors complete questionnaires to help determine whether they are qualified to serve on a jury. After reviewing the questionnaires, the court randomly selects individuals to be summoned to appear for jury duty. These selection methods help ensure that jurors represent a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age or political affiliation.

Being summoned for jury service does not guarantee that an individual actually will serve on a jury. When a jury is needed for a trial, the group of qualified jurors is taken to the courtroom where the trial will take place. The judge and the attorneys then ask the potential jurors questions to determine their suitability to serve on the jury, a process called voir dire. The purpose of voir dire is to exclude from the jury people who may not be able to decide the case fairly. Members of the panel who know any person involved in the case, who have information about the case, or who may have strong prejudices about the people or issues involved in the case, typically will be excused by the judge. The attorneys also may exclude a certain number of jurors without giving a reason.