Jurors Criminal Justice 1010 Abigail Hogan

Where did we get the idea for trial by jury?  The jury system started in England.  In the Declaration of Independence, King George 3 rd was accused of not giving the colonists trial by jury.  This injustice helped lead to the Revolutionary War.

How is a jury made up?  The master jury list, or jury pool, is made up of voter registration lists and drivers license rolls.  People are picked at random from these lists.  They fill out questionnaires.  They are then sent notice that they have been called for jury duty.

Basic Jury Requirements  To serve on a jury you must  Be over 18 years of age  A citizen of the United States  Free from any felony convictions  Healthy enough to function as a juror  Sufficiently intelligent  Be able to read, write, and comprehend the English language

Jury exceptions and terms  Some people are excused from jury duty according to undue hardships or extreme inconvenience.  Examples include: surgery on day of court, taking care of small children or the elderly, and living in a rural are away from court without transportation.  Once qualified, people are eligible to serve for 1-6 months depending on county and court.  Once you fulfill jury duty you won’t be called for a 2 year period.  However, you can be called for federal and state jury duty in the same 2 year period.

Jury Sizes  Traditionally for criminal trials, the jury is people. In federal cases there are 12 jurors, with 1-6 alternates.  Grand juries are often made up of people.  Civil trial juries are made up of 6-12 people, with no alternates.

Role of the jury  Juries are there for impartiality.  The job of the jury is to be court fact finders in order to make impartial judgment.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, impartiality is defined as: not partial or biased, treating all groups and people equally.

Every American Should Be Proud to Serve on a Jury  YChLNXA&feature=player_detailpage YChLNXA&feature=player_detailpage

It’s important for juries to be made up of a diverse group of people.

More diversity in juries lead to more equal conviction rates

Jury Selection aka Voir Dire

 Throughout the process of Voir Dire, both prosecution and defense attorneys question prospective jurors about significant personal information. Voir Dire To Speak the Truth

Voir Dire (cont.)  The attorneys are allowed a specific number of challenges.  The challenges are used to keep potential jurors off the jury.  However, the final decision rests with the judge as to who is on the jury.  Jurors cannot be challenged based on gender or race.

 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense Jury Selection According to the 6 th amendment, defendants get a trial of by an impartial jury, this means the jury is made up of people similar to the regional values according to community by county.

The juries been picked so let the trial begin…  Before the trial begins, the jurors are sworn in under oath.  Juries are paid $18.50 for the first day of service and then $49.00 for every day thereafter.  The jury is restricted to only the evidence within the courtroom and are not allowed to publish or discuss the case with anyone.  If approached by someone who tries to trial with a juror, the juror is to leave and report the incident to the judge.  Sequestration is rarely done in order to accomplish a fair trial, but in some cases for the jury to be impartial they need to be completely cut off from outside world to deliberate.

Deliberation  Before the jury is excused for deliberation, the judge gives them charge, or counsel about the law at hand.

Conviction or Acquittal  Both of these results require complete unanimity within the jury.  If the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, they are considered hung, the judge declares a mistrial and the prosecution decides if they want to bring the charges to another trial.  Only about 6% of all cases result in a hung jury.

Different Trials Criminal Cases  Deliberation in criminal cases requires unanimity.  Decides if the defendant is guilty or not guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil Cases  Civil case deliberations only need the majority rule.  Decide if the defendant is responsible and how much damages will be paid.

Civil Cases  Civil cases require a plaintiff to file a complaint with the court and “serve” a copy to the defendant.  Said complaint explains the plaintiff’s injury, how the injury was caused, and asks the court to order relief.  Civil cases are often settled out of court, but when that doesn’t happen a trial occurs.

Grand Juries- to indict or not to indict?  Don’t meet everyday, but serve up to 36 months.  Don’t decide guilt, instead they decide if someone should be charged with a crime.  There is no judge.  It’s basically a dry run for prosecution.

Grand Juries in Utah  A panel of judges selected from throughout the state will hold hearings in each judicial district every 3 years, to determine the needs to summon a grand jury according to criminal activity.

Work Cited