Social and Legal Studios

Abstract

The article analyzes the degree of influence of the Prosecutor’s office on the formation and activity of the jury trial in the Russian Empire. As a result of the judicial reform of 1864 in the Russian Empire, a jury trial was created and the Prosecutor’s office was reformed. The prosecutor became a party of the prosecution in the trial. At the same time, the Prosecutor’s office also retained its supervisory function in relation to the courts, so it had the opportunity to influence the formation and activities of the jury trial. The Prosecutor’s office supervised the activities of the commissions for the preparation of general and regular lists of jurors, and since 1884 the prosecutors were members of this Commission. The Minister of justice ordered prosecutors to supervise the activities of these commissions, and that the lists of jurors included persons "morally and socially trustworthy" and did not include persons who in the performance of the duties of jurors showed "a clear misunderstanding of the tasks of the court". In some cases, the Prosecutor’s office ordered the police to conduct checks on the behavior of jurors and even covert surveillance of them. At the trial the Prosecutor had the right to declared recusal a certain number of jurors without explanation. In some cases, the Prosecutor’s office declared recusals for tactical reasons. At the hearing the Prosecutor’s office defended its position before the jury trial in a contest with the defense. The influence on the jurors depended largely on the experience and activity of the public Prosecutor, on his skillful support of the prosecution. In general, prosecutors had a positive attitude to the jury trial. It is concluded that, by supervising the activities of the commissions for drawing up lists of jurors, as well as participating in their work and in the formation of a specific composition of the jury in the court session, the Prosecutor’s office indirectly influenced the results of the criminal case. And the activity of the Prosecutor’s office in the court session, as the parties of criminal process directly influenced the decisions of the court of juries

Keywords: Prosecutor’s office, prosecutor, jury trial, jurors, supervision, Ministry of Justice

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