An Essay on the Trial by Jury Book

Unquestionably the most radical treatise ever written on the American jury, examining Magna Carta and a host of other historical sources to sustain the claim that jurors should be chosen from the entire population and be judges of both fact and law .
One of the earliest treatises on the subject. Spooner's powerful argument for reform of the jury system holds that jurors should be drawn by lot from the whole body of citizens, and that they should be judges of law as well as of the fact in question. Spooner [1808-1887] was well known for his controversial arguments on political and legal subjects.
Spooner maintained that jurors should be drawn by lot from the whole body of citizens, and that they should be judges of law as well as of fact.

Contents:
The Right of Juries to Judge of the Justice of Laws
The Trial by Jury, As Defined by Magna Carta
1. The History of Magna Carta. 2. The Language of Magna Carta
Additional Proofs of the Rights and Duties of Juries
1. Weakness of the Regal Authority 2. The Ancient Common Law Juries Were Mere Courts of Conscience 3. The Oaths of Juror. 4. The Right of Jurors to Fix the Sentence 5. The Oaths of Judges 6. The Coronation Oath
The Rights and Duties of Juries in Civil Suits
Objections Answered
Juries of the Present Day Illegal
Illegal Judges
The Free Administration of Justice
The Criminal Intent
Moral Considerations for Jurors
Authority of Magna Carta
Limitations Imposed Upon the Majority by the Trial by Jury
Appendix
Taxation