Overview

Persistent acquittals lead to changes in the criminal justice system. James Donovan takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the jury in modern France by investigating the legal, political, sociocultural, and intellectual aspects of jury trial from the Revolution through the twentieth century. He demonstrates that these juries, through their decisions, helped shape reform of the nation's criminal justice system. From their introduction in 1791 as an expression of the sovereignty of the people through the early 1900s, argues Donovan, juries often acted against the wishes of the political and judicial authorities, despite repeated governmental attempts to manipulate their composition. High acquittal rates for both political and nonpolitical crimes were in part due to juror resistance to the harsh and rigid punishments imposed by the Napoleonic Penal Code, Donovan explains.

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Reviews

A useful overview of general ideological trends related to jury trials, highlighted by comparisons with developments in the English and American judicial systems. <br>- Law and History Review

Impressively researched and convincingly argued . . . will be essential reading and a key reference point for anyone interested in criminal justice history in France since the Revolution. <br>- American Historical Review

Author Information

JAMES M. DONOVAN is associate professor of history at Pennsylvania State University at Mont Alto.

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