Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
12 Unnecessary Men: The Case For Eliminating Jury Trials In Drunk Driving Cases, Adam M. Gershowitz
12 Unnecessary Men: The Case For Eliminating Jury Trials In Drunk Driving Cases, Adam M. Gershowitz
Faculty Publications
Over the last few decades, states have imposed tougher punishments on drunk drivers. This Article argues that increasing punishments is counterproductive. If legislatures are seeking to hold guilty offenders accountable and deter drunk driving, they should keep punishments low and instead abolish the right to jury trials. Under the petty offense doctrine, the Supreme Court has authorized states to abolish jury trials when defendants face a maximum sentence of six months’ incarceration. Social science evidence has long demonstrated that judges are more likely to convict than juries, particularly in drunk driving cases. And researchers have found that the certainty of …
Judicial Gatekeeping And The Seventh Amendment: How Daubert Infringes Upon The Constitutional Right To A Civil Jury Trial, Brandon L. Boxler
Judicial Gatekeeping And The Seventh Amendment: How Daubert Infringes Upon The Constitutional Right To A Civil Jury Trial, Brandon L. Boxler
W&M Law Student Publications
This Article begins by reviewing the history, purpose, and function of the Seventh Amendment within the American constitutional system. It then discusses the Supreme Court‘s analytical framework for preserving the fundamental features of the right to a civil jury trial while simultaneously permitting rational legal development of the jury system. Next, the Article provides a brief overview of the Court‘s Daubert jurisprudence, and argues that the creation of judicial gatekeeping has caused an institutional shift of adjudicatory authority away from juries and into the hands of judges in violation of the Seventh Amendment. The Article concludes by suggesting three legal …