Project Gutenberg 1998-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 205 Spooner, Lysander 1808 1887 An Essay on the Trial By Jury "An Essay on the Trial By Jury" by Lysander Spooner is a legal and philosophical treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work discusses the historical evolution and the fundamental principles of the trial by jury, asserting it as a crucial safeguard against governmental oppression and tyranny. Spooner elaborates on the importance of jurors not only determining the facts of a case but also judging the justice of the laws themselves, emphasizing the jury's power to invalidate unjust laws. The opening of the text establishes Spooner's intentions to argue that trial by jury serves as a bulwark against despotism. He begins by outlining the rights and responsibilities of juries as defined by the Common Law and the Magna Carta, advocating that juries must have the authority to judge the justice of laws. Spooner insists that if a jury is unable to exercise its fundamental right to evaluate whether a law is just or unjust, then the very concept of trial by jury becomes meaningless and merely becomes a tool for governmental oppression. He lays a foundation for a broader discussion that will unfold throughout the essay, critiquing contemporary judicial practices and asserting the necessity for juries to remain independent from government influence. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 48.2 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Jury -- United States Jury -- Great Britain K Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: History - British Category: History - Modern (1750+) Category: Law & Criminology Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Politics 613156 2025-10-01T08:38:32.747380 text/html 612977 2025-01-07T16:10:53.294241 text/html 285972 2025-10-01T08:38:40.522345 application/epub+zip 293735 2025-10-01T08:38:35.648354 application/epub+zip 281340 2025-10-01T08:38:34.523376 application/epub+zip 494385 2025-10-01T08:38:44.330327 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 468270 2025-10-01T08:38:39.807319 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 433065 2022-08-01T08:24:15.156755 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 580137 2025-10-01T08:38:32.316444 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 571410 2015-04-02T14:20:26 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 194624 2015-04-02T14:20:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18378 2025-10-01T08:38:44.462355 application/rdf+xml 12515 2025-10-01T08:38:35.008389 image/jpeg 3041 2025-10-01T08:38:34.765358 image/jpeg 284045 2025-10-01T08:38:32.790380 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia