Description: 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 20th century. Challenging the contention of modern historians that the generally bourgeois jurors of 19th-century France usually rendered verdicts in keeping with class justice, Donovan demonstrates that these juries, through their decisions, helped shape reform of the nation's criminal justice system.
Review Quotes: "Donovan makes a new and important contribution to the study of criminal justice in Europe by placing the institution of the jury in its broader judicial, political, and intellectual context. He demonstrates that as an independent force closely attuned to the views of the French laity, the trial jury played a crucial role in adapting criminal law to meet the needs of the broader society. An excellent book."--Robert Allen, Stephen F. Austin State University