The Juror, The Citizen, and The Human Being: The Presumptions of Innocence and the Burden of Judgment

Criminal Law and Philosophy, 2013

U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper No. 299

11 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2013

See all articles by Sherman J. Clark

Sherman J. Clark

University of Michigan Law School

Date Written: January 16, 2013

Abstract

In this essay, I suggest that the criminal trial is not only about the guilt or innocence of the defendant, but also about the character and growth of the jurors and the communities they represent. In earlier work, I have considered the potential impact of law and politics on the character of citizens, and thus on the capacity of citizens to thrive – to live full and rich human lives. Regarding the jury, I have argued that aspects of criminal trial procedure work to fix in jurors a sense of agency in and responsibility for verdicts of conviction. Here, I draw on those ideas with respect to the presumption of innocence. I suggest that the presumption of innocence works not primarily as legal rule, but rather as a moral framing device – a sort of moral discomfort device – encouraging jurors to feel and bear the weight of what they do. I offer an account of character development in which virtues are conceived of not merely as modes of conduct developed through habituation and practice, but also as capacities and ways of being developed in part through understanding and experience. The criminal trial, framed by the presumption of innocence, can be an experience through which jurors and their communities, by learning what it means and feels like to carry a certain sort of moral weight, may engender a certain set of moral strengths – strengths valuable to them not just as jurors, but also as citizens, and as human beings.

Keywords: Jury, criminal trial, presumption of innocence

JEL Classification: K14

Suggested Citation

Clark, Sherman J., The Juror, The Citizen, and The Human Being: The Presumptions of Innocence and the Burden of Judgment (January 16, 2013). Criminal Law and Philosophy, 2013, U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper No. 299, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2201849

Sherman J. Clark (Contact Author)

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
United States

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