Juries and the Transformation of Criminal Justice in France in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

“A comprehensive study of juries on the administration of criminal punishments and on the transformation of penal law in France from 1791 to 1941. . . . Highly recommended.” — CHOICE

“One of the many merits of Donovan’s erudite and incisive book is to trace the many twists and turns of the experiment and to explain why it has been so troubled. . . . An authoritative and useful book.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“A useful overview of general ideological trends related to jury trials, highlighted by comparisons with developments in the English and American judicial systems.” — Law and History Review

“Donovan has written a fine study illuminating the relationship between criminal procedure, politics and popular opinion.” — European History Quarterly

“This book is the product of wide reading and analytic ingenuity. It is a model study in the complex relationship between criminal procedure, substantive criminal law, and politics, and it deserves the attention of French historians and scholars of criminal law alike.” — James Q. Whitman, Yale University

“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