Punishment, Participatory Democracy, and the Jury
by Albert W. Dzur
(Author)
Focusing contemporary democratic theory on the
neglected topic of punishment, Punishment, Participatory Democracy, and the
Jury argues for increased civic engagement in criminal justice as an antidote
to the American penal state. Albert W. Dzur considers how the jury, rather than
merely expressing unreflective public opinion, may serve as a participatory
institution that gathers and utilizes citizens' juridical capabilities. In
doing so, the book resists trends in criminal justice scholarship that blame
increases in penal severity on citizen participation and rejects political
theorists' longstanding skepticism of lay abilities.
Dzur distinguishes constructive citizen involvement
that takes responsibility for public problems from a mass politics mobilized
superficially around single issues. This more positive view of citizen action,
which was once a major justification for the jury trial, is now also manifest
in the restorative justice movement, which has incorporated lay people into
community boards and sentencing circles. Both jury trials and restorative
justice programs, Dzur explains, are examples of rational disorganization, in
which lay citizen action renders a process less efficient yet also contributes
valuable qualities such as attunement, reflectiveness, and full-bodied communication.
While restorative justice programs and participatory policy forums such as
citizens' juries have become attractive to reformers, traditional juries have
suffered a steep and troubling decline. Punishment, Participatory Democracy,
and the Jury advocates a broader role for jurors in the criminal courts and
more widespread use of jury trials.
Though no panacea for a political culture grown too
comfortable with criminalization and incarceration, participatory institutional
designs that rationally disorganize punishment practices and slow down criminal
justice can catalyze civic responsibility and public awareness about the need
to find alternative paths forward for America's broken penal system.
