Annotated Bibliography

Aaseng, Nathan. You Are the Juror.
Minneapolis: The Oliver Press, 1997.
The reader assumes the role of a juror in eight famous trials of the 20 ^th century, including the Lindbergh kidnapping trial, the trial of the Chicago Seven, and Patty Hearst's trial for armed robbery. Written for young adults.

Abramson, Jeffrey. We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of Democracy.
New York: Basic Books, 2000.
An examination of whether the American jury systems work, through a look at historical cases. Considers such issues as racial bias, jury selection, local justice, and the death penalty.

Adler, Stephen. Jury: Trial and Error in the American Courtroom.
New York: Times Books, 1994. A study of jury proceedings in six separate cases that highlights some of the problems with the jury system.

Dwyer, William L. In the Hands of the People: The Trial Jury's Origins, Triumphs, Troubles, and Future in American Democracy .
Thomas Dunne Books, 2002.
A passionate defense of the trial jury, which the author, a former trial lawyer and federal judge, describes as "America's most democratic institution."

De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America.
New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
First published in 1835, Democracy in America is widely regarded as one of the most important works of modern political thought. As part of a discussion of democratic government in the United States, Tocqueville wrote a section on "The Jury in the United States Considered as a Political Institution." He argues that juries "are one of the most effective means available to society for educating the people."

Hans, Valerie P. and Neil Vidmar. Judging the Jury.
New York: Plenum Press, 1986.
A comprehensive history of the American jury system and critical analysis of its efficacy and usefulness.

Kalven, Harry and Hans Zeisel. The American Jury.
Boston: Little, Brown, 1966.
A landmark empirical study of the rates of agreement and disagreement, and their reasons, between jury verdicts and what the trial judge would have decided absent the jury.

Jonakait, Randolph N. The American Jury System.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
Offers a comprehensive treatment of the American jury system, examining its historical development and contemporary issues. Discusses a wide variety of sources and materials, including scholarly research, Supreme Court cases, and celebrity trials, as well as novels and films treating the jury and jury issues. Argues for a renewed appreciation for the American jury as a democratic institution.

Lehman, Godfrey D. We the Jury: The Impact of Jurors on Our Basic Freedoms: Great Jury Trials of History.
Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1997.
Lehman argues, through a look at classic cases from colonial days through the twentieth century, for independent juries, and against such modern legal phenomena as jury consultants, the voir dire process, and exclusion of evidence, that have acted to limit jurors' independence and create a legal system in which Americans have lost faith.