The Jury as Lawmaker: Legal Realism and Deliberation in Reginald Rose&rsquo;s Twelve Angry Men

Wahab, Kawthar Fadhil; Muhi, Maysoon T.

doi:10.25130/Lang.9.3.P2.15

	The Jury as Lawmaker: Legal Realism and Deliberation in Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men
Journal of Language Studies
Volume 9, Issue 3, Part 2, September 2025, Pages 224-244 PDF (626.59 K)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.25130/Lang.9.3.P2.15
Authors
Kawthar Fadhil Wahab; Maysoon T. Muhi
University of Baghdad, College of Education for Women
Abstract
This paper examines Twelve Angry Men (1954) by Reginald Rose through the lens of Legal Realism. It focuses on the play’s significant critique of legal formalism and advocates for legal adaptation to real social realities. It aims to examine the portrayal of justice in the play and how the events and characters align with the thought that different factors shape law. It demonstrates how the play contributes to contemporary debates on justice and reform in the legal system. Karl Llewellyn’s theory of Legal Realism is central to understanding events in a jury room, which consists of twelve jurors. The play illustrates how a legal realist perspective, particularly in criminal cases, is more closely tied to real-world issues than it is to abstract theoretical concepts. Legal Realism challenges the rigidity of the legal system and advocates for a dynamic one that evolves in response to societal needs. The results show how the play exemplifies the critique of traditional assumptions and advocates for reforms that acknowledge the law's ethical and social dimensions, ensuring that justice is not a theoretical ideal but an attainable reality.
Keywords
Bias; Juror; Law; Legal Practitioner; Legal Realism; Realist; Twelve Angry Men

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