The jury system has value far beyond deciding the guilt or innocence of the accused, according to Willamette University criminal law professor Laura Appleman.
In her new book, Defending the Jury: Crime, Community and the Constitution (Cambridge UP: 2015), Appleman, examines the role the jury process can play in community satisfaction with the justice system, healing after tragedies like the shooting of Michael Brown, and legitimizing the criminal process and ensuring its democratic nature.
Recommended as a "noteworthy new book" on the influential criminal justice blog Sentencing Law, Appleman's book "shines a light on a serious problem in our justice system," according to Slate.
Appleman is a former New York criminal appellate public defender who teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Sentencing Law and Policy. She joined the faculty of the Willamette University College of Law in 2006.
