# Criminal Juries explained — The Crowd > Chapter companion for The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon. ## What happens This chapter examines the psychology of criminal juries as a specific type of heterogeneous, non-anonymous crowd. It argues that juries are highly suggestible, guided by sentiment rather than reason, and influenced by prestige and the leadership of a few key members. The author defends the jury system against critics who would replace it with magistrates, contending that juries are more open to conviction and mercy than professional judges, who are bound by caste interests and legal rigidity. ## Themes in this chapter ### Psychology of Crowds Juries are analyzed as a specific type of crowd, displaying suggestibility, sentiment-driven reasoning, and influence by leaders. ### Irrationality and Credulity Juries are swayed by emotional appeals and prestige rather than logical argument, and are easily influenced by a few dominant members. ### Leadership and Suggestion The chapter emphasizes how a few energetic or prestigious individuals can guide the jury's verdict, and how skilled counsel manipulate these dynamics. ### Morality of Crowds Juries show dual morality: severe for crimes that threaten society, but indulgent for crimes of passion or those where the accused is seen as a victim. ## Character check-ins ### M. Berard des Glajeux Former President of the Court of Assizes; quoted on the selection and behavior of jurors, noting that verdicts remain unchanged despite changes in jury composition. ### M. Lachaud Illustrious barrister; known for using his right to object to intelligent jurors and for a tactic of winning over a stubborn juror by addressing a distraction. ### Crowds General category of crowd; juries are analyzed as a specific example of a heterogeneous, non-anonymous crowd displaying suggestibility and sentiment-driven decisions. ### The Speaker The author/narrator who analyzes jury psychology and defends the jury system against critics. ### Unknown Narrator Provides the overarching analysis and commentary throughout the chapter. ## Key lines > Juries, in the first place, furnish us a good example of the slight importance of the mental level of the different elements composing a crowd, so far as the decisions it comes to are concerned. Juries show that the intelligence of individual members matters little for the group's verdict. _The author argues that crowd decisions are not based on the intellectual level of members._ > Like all crowds, juries are very strongly impressed by sentimental considerations, and very slightly by argument. Juries are moved more by emotion than by logic. _Highlights the emotional basis of jury decisions._ > The chief concern of a good counsel should be to work upon the feelings of the jury, and, as with all crowds, to argue but little, or only to employ rudimentary modes of reasoning. A skilled lawyer should appeal to the jury's emotions rather than rely on complex arguments. _Advice on effective courtroom strategy based on crowd psychology._ > Crowds are open to conviction; castes never are. Crowds can be persuaded, but professional groups with vested interests cannot. _Final defense of the jury system against replacement by magistrates._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_crowd_se/chapters/iii-criminal-juries - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_crowd_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_crowd_se/chapters