And Sir William Blackstone wrote: "UPON these accounts the trial by jury even has been, and I trust ever will be, looked upon as the glory of the English law.
2008-10-10
And Sir William Blackstone wrote: "UPON these accounts the trial by jury even has been, and I trust ever will be, looked upon as the glory of the English law. And, if it has so great an advantage over others in regulating civil property, how much must that advantage be heightened, when it is applied to criminal cases! But this we must refer to the ensuing book of these commentaries: only observing for the present, that it is the most transcendent privilege which any subject can enjoy, or with for, that he cannot be affected either in his property, his liberty, or his person, but by the unanimous consent of twelve of his neighbours and equals. A constitution, that I may venture to affirm has, under providence, secured the just liberties of this nation for a long succession of ages. And therefore a celebrated French writer who concludes , that because Rome, Sparta, and Carthage have lost their libertie, therefore, those of England in time must perish, should have recollected that Rome, Sparta, and Carthage, were strangers to the trial by jury."
