E. P. Thompson Quotes

When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

I have great faith in the jury system.

A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.

Trial by jury slows the wheels of justice.

I believe in the jury system.

In our system, we leave questions of fact to a jury. But to render a verdict, a jury must know the law. For this, we rely upon jury instructions. Instructions are supposed to translate the law into lay terms that the jury can apply to the facts as they determine them.

Serving jury duty is a fascinating little slice of life, with its motley crew of personalities.

There are very few countries in the world where we have a jury system as we all know.

Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice and they are also the most protected.

The jury system has come to stand for all we mean by English justice. The scrutiny of 12 honest jurors provides defendants and plaintiffs alike a safeguard from arbitrary perversion of the law.

They have been grand-jurymen since before Noah was a sailor

In my mind, he was guilty of no error - he was chargeable with no exaggeration - he was betrayed by his fancy into no metaphor, who once said that all we see about us, Kings, Lords, and Commons, the whole machinery of the State, all the apparatus of the system, and its varied workings, end in simply bringing twelve good men into a box.

Describing the jury in the OJ Simpson murder trial: These people have served a longer sentence than some people who have committed murder.

Jury - A group of 12 people, who, having lied to the judge about their health, hearing, and business engagements, have failed to fool him.

The jury system puts a ban upon intelligence and honesty and a premium upon ignorance, stupidity and perjury.

Some people try to get out of jury duty by lying. You don't have to lie. Tell the judge the truth. Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people.

It is impossible to find twelve fair men in all the world.

Of course, as a German, I wouldn't like to tell the American people how to handle their criminal justice.

to move the wheels of justice is a ponderous business.

Because jurors have an extraordinary amount of power over the situation and of the people and the story in front of them, they tend to pay pretty intense attention to what's happening.

Justice too long delayed is justice denied.

You think you know what is just and what is not. I understand. We all think we know." I had no doubt, myself, then, that at each moment each one of us, man, woman, child, perhaps even the poor old horse turning the mill-wheel, knew what was just: all creatures come into the world bringing with them the memory of justice. "But we live in a world of laws," I said to my poor prisoner, "a world of the second-best. There is nothing we can do about that. We are fallen creatures. All we can do is to uphold the laws, all of us, without allowing the memory of justice to fade.

[T]hough individual oppression may now and then proceed fro the courts of justice, the general liberty of the people can never be endangered from that quarter . . .

The Common lawes of the Realme should by no means be delayed for the law is the surest sanctuary, that a man should take, and the strongest fortresse to protect the weakest of all, lex et tutissima cassis.

This is really a pretty good system you have here. What do you call it? "Due process". We're very proud of it.