Trial by jury

Trial by jury is one of the hallmarks of the American judicial system. It has its pros and cons, but some pretty high-ranking people think it does more bad than good. One person is a Chief Justice in South Africa named Mogoeng Mogoeng.

The jury system was abolished in South Africa during the 1960s, I.e., during the Apartheid period. Racial tensions during that time were suspected of making juries biased, depending on the backgrounds of the people in cases. Whatever the truth is, Mogoeng Mogoeng stands by his beliefs.

First of all, using a jury to resolve an issue would clog up the legal system, according to Mogoeng Mogoeng, and it would also be time-consuming. Other difficulties could arise because of the widespread differences in class and education.

"It is not suited to our country," the Chief Justice declared. He made his remarks at the law school of the University of KwaZulu-Natal's socio-legal program.

But what really drove him to abandon faith in trial by jury? It happened after seeing the way it worked in the U.S. That experience made him conclude that it was incompatible with South African society.