"Charts juries from antiquity through the English-speaking world and beyond to Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia ... In this book, Renée Lettow Lerner describes the benefits and challenges of using juries, including jury nullification. She considers how innovations from non-English-speaking countries may be key to the survival of citizen participation in the legal system"--Publisher's website.

"I owe a great debt to the many jurors, judges, lawyers, trial consultants, historians, and academics around the world from whom I have had the pleasure of learning about the jury. Traci Emerson Spackey of the George Washington University Law Library provided extraordinarily creative and effective help in locating images and other sources. Clifford Ando gave valuable recommendations about sources for the ancient world, and Daniela Cammack kindly provided drafts of her now-published article about Athenian juries. Trial lawyer Bobby Burchfield generously gave detailed and deeply knowledgeable comments on the manuscript. Karen Wahl provided expert assistance locating sources. I thank Morgan Reinhardt for allowing me to use her research on jury forepersons, and Anna Offit, her law professor, for guiding me to her and for comparative work on juries. Anna Caraveli and Jonathan Chaves, my colleague at George Washington University, made important suggestions and pointed out places in which non-lawyers needed further explanation of legal concepts. My daughter Anna Lerner provided the perspective of a younger reader and gently let her mother know where improvements would be helpful. For decades, John Langbein has been a constant source of insight about juries. I am grateful to Akhil Amar for first sparking, and then encouraging, my interest in the subject, and for his vibrant work. My husband Craig Lerner gave unceasing encouragement and invaluable advice"--Provided by the publisher.

Why use lay jurors? -- The ancient and medieval world -- Reasons for lay jurors in early modern and modern societies -- Jury power to nullify the law -- Who serves as a juror? -- The scope and form of the jury -- Limitations of lay jurors -- Jury control and avoidance -- The future of the jury.