美国陪审团废止权的历史演变--民主与现代化的矛盾

An Inquiry into the Historical Evolution of Jury Nullification in the United States:The Contradiction between Democracy and Modernization

本文探讨的是美国陪审团废止权的历史演变。文章首先追溯废止权的英国起源和它在英属北美殖民地及美国建国初期的发展,然后阐述废止权在19世纪的逐渐式微和它在当代进退维谷的境地。文章认为,废止权是陪审团作为人民的直接代表能否真正参与司法的关键所在,是司法民主的重要体现,但是随着政治民主化、司法专业化和社会多元化带来的挑战,陪审团废止权弱化了,这在一定程度上是适应现代化的结果。不过,废止权在制约政府权力、纠正不当立法、反映民众心声和保证公正判决等方面所起的作用,仍然是现代美国社会的需要。如何处理好民主与现代化的关系,使民主不会因为现代化而牺牲,是美国人民长期以来所要面对的一个重要问题。

Trial by jury and representative government are usually seen as twin pillars of democracy in the United States.The right of jury nullification is the key to ensuring that the common people may play a role in the judicial process to prevent injustice.In the early years of the Republic and the Antebellum era,jury nullification was accepted in most cases even though it began to be challenged more and more by judges as a result of the modernization of the American society.The U.S.Supreme Court finally denied this right in 1895.Jury nullification,however,is still exercised de facto by juries in both federal and state courts.Apparently,this tradition has survived the challenges from the process of modernization and will continue to endure.Thus we see in recent years the repeated appeal for reaffirming the right of jury nullification in the United States.How to keep the judicial system as a democratic institution is still an issue for Americans to think through in the 21st century.