"""Gentlemen of the Jury"": The Status of Jurors and the Reputation of the Jury in the Midwest, 1830--1860"
McDermott, Stacy Pratt
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/84687
Description
Title
"""Gentlemen of the Jury"": The Status of Jurors and the Reputation of the Jury in the Midwest, 1830--1860"
Author(s)
McDermott, Stacy Pratt
Issue Date
2007
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Burton, Orville Vernon
Department of Study
History
Discipline
History
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
History, United States
Language
eng
Abstract
This dissertation examines the demographic characteristics of antebellum Illinois jurors and analyzes the evolving status of the jury as a legal and democratic institution. A quantitative analysis of the economic, professional, social, and political rank of jurors in Sangamon County, Illinois, from 1830-1860, forms the foundation of the investigation. The research also encompasses an in-depth examination of jury statutes and appellate case law related to jury composition and service in the antebellum Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa). Jury trial procedures, courtroom conditions, jury verdicts, and juror experiences are central topics of discussion. Most importantly, the dissertation draws connections between the power of jurors and the power of the institution of the jury as juxtaposed with the power of both the bench and bar with whom the jury struggled for dominance within the courtroom. During this formative period of American law, the jury's role within the legal structure, its reputation in the context of American democratic ideals, and the rhetoric employed by Americans to describe it was in constant flux. As a result, the power position of the institution of the jury was far from decided before the coming of the Civil War.
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