History
The English jury has its roots in two institutions that date from before the Norman conquest in 1066. The inquest, as a means of settling a fact, had developed in Scandinavia and the Carolingian Empire while Anglo-Saxon law had used a "jury of accusation" to establish the strength of the allegation against a criminal suspect. In the latter case, the jury were not triers of fact and, if the accusation was seen as posing a case to answer, guilt or innocence were established by oath, often in the form of compurgation, or trial by ordeal. During the 11th and 12th centuries, juries were sworn to decide property disputes but it was the Roman Catholic Church's 1215 withdrawal of support for trial by ordeal that necessitated the development of the jury in its modern form.Baker (2002) p.72-73
The first trial by jury took place in the court of Henry the II on 11 June 1168. It was a trial about the murder of an innocent civilian. A man named Benedict Graymond, was tried as the murderer. He had killed this unnamed man with a garden tool, unknown to us today. He was voted guilty by the jury at that time. No members can be traced back to this time.
Read more about this topic: Juries In England And Wales
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