OPTIMIZATION OF DECISION MAKING IN JUDICIAL CASES. A COMPARATIVE VIEW BETWEEN USA AND ROMANIA

The article has a twofold goal: bringing to light both the advantages and the disadvantages of individual and group decision in juridical cases (the situation of the jurors is considered in the sociological literature as a quasi-natural experiment. The paper analyzes various dimensions and aspects of this topic, including a short history of each model, in order to better understand the reasons why both systems are operating today. The research started from the question: which of these two juridical systems (the American system and the Romanian one) are regarded as more efficient by those who practice law. A series of semi-structured interviews applied to experienced lawyers from both countries focused on: differences perceived between decision-making processes involving a court of jury and a judge vs. judge alone; advantages and disadvantages of each decision making system; weak points of each system; possible changes for the optimization of the decision-making process; and an evaluation of the reaction of the public opinion. The analysis of the data showed that some of the hypotheses were partially valid. In the final part, I discussed the perspectives of the implementation of the decision-making process based on a court of jury in Romania.