Reconstructing Justice

Download or read book Reconstructing Justice written by Franklin Strier and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1996-05-15 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this lively and persuasive critique, Franklin Strier doesn't simply describe problems with the American trial system; he proposes reforms. He offers a detailed blueprint of how to improve our basic adversarial system while blunting its excesses and inequities. Strier points out that the jury system was originally intended to diffuse the power of the government, but criticizes the method by which jurors are selected, patronized, and manipulated. Among his suggestions: eliminate peremptory challenges, give jurors the authority, and judges the responsibility, to ask questions of witnesses, and use neutral expert witnesses.