Judgment by Peers: Lay Participation in Legal Decision Making

Almost two-thirds of countries worldwide rely on laypersons as legal decision makers in criminal cases, and a substantial number use laypersons to resolve civil disputes. Laypersons participate as jurors, lay judges, lay magistrates, and members of lay courts. Their participation enhances fact-finding by incorporating community views and values into legal decision making. Lay participation can also increase the transparency and legitimacy of law and the courts and promote democracy. As a result, some countries have adopted lay participation in recent decades. Yet, concerns about competence and bias have led other countries to circumscribe or abolish their systems of lay participation. This review describes the different roles that laypersons play as legal decision makers and the work that they do. It also describes the competing trends to expand or limit lay participation in legal decision making. After summarizing the research evidence, this article concludes that there is much value in judgment by peers.