1. Jury System

2. Background Right to an impartial Jury comes from Roman Law
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact, which then direct the actions of a judge.
It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.

3. In the United States, every person accused of a crime punishable by incarceration for more than six months has a constitutionally protected right to a trial by jury.
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states in part, "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."

4. Depending upon the state, a jury must be unanimous for either a guilty or not guilty decision.
If the jury cannot come to a decision, the case will have to be dropped and the defendant may be released.
A jury's deliberations are conducted in private, out of sight and hearing of the judge, litigants, witnesses, and others in the courtroom

5. Jurors in some states are selected through voter registration and drivers' license lists.
A form is sent to prospective jurors to pre-qualify them by asking the recipient to answer questions about citizenship, disabilities, ability to understand the English language, and whether they have any conditions that would excuse them from being a juror. If they are deemed qualified, a summons is issued.

6. Civil Cases A civil jury is typically made up of 6 to 12 persons.
In a civil case, the role of the jury is to listen to the evidence presented at a trial, to decide whether the defendant injured the plaintiff or otherwise failed to fulfill a legal duty to the plaintiff, and to determine what the compensation or penalty should be.
A Civil Case jury does not have to be unanimous

7. Criminal Cases
A criminal jury is usually made up of 12 members, though fewer may sit on cases involving lesser offenses. Criminal juries decide whether the defendant committed the crime as charged.
The sentence may be set by either the jury or the judge; generally, in felony cases the jury sets punishment while in lesser offenses it may be set by the judge.
Verdicts in criminal cases must be unanimous, with the following exceptions:
Currently, two states, Oregon and Louisiana, do not require unanimous verdicts in criminal cases. Each requires a 10–2 majority for conviction, except for capital crimes: Oregon requires at least 11 votes and Louisiana requires all 12.

8. Grand Jury
The grand jury plays an important role in the criminal process, but not one that involves a finding of guilt or punishment of a party.
Instead, a prosecutor will work with a grand jury to decide whether to bring criminal charges or an indictment against a potential defendant -- usually reserved for serious felonies.
Grand jury members may be called for jury duty for months at a time, but only need to appear in court for a few days out of every month. Regular court trial juries are usually 6 or 12 people, but in the federal system, a grand jury can be 16 to 23 people.

9. Criminal Charges vs Indictment
Criminal Charge-is a formal allegation that you have committed one or more criminal offenses. These can be misdemeanor or felony violations
Indictment- a charge of a felony voted by a Grand Jury based upon a proposed charge, witnesses' testimony and other evidence presented by the public prosecutor (District Attorney). To bring an indictment the Grand Jury will not find guilt, but only the probability that a crime was committed, that the accused person did it and that he/she should be tried.

10. Grand Jury Proceedings
Grand jury proceedings are much more relaxed than normal court room proceedings.
There is no judge present and frequently there are no lawyers except for the prosecutor.
The prosecutor will explain the law to the jury and work with them to gather evidence and hear testimony. Under normal courtroom rules of evidence, exhibits and other testimony must adhere to strict rules before admission.
However, a grand jury has broad power to see and hear almost anything they would like.

11. However, unlike the vast majority of trials, grand jury proceedings are kept in strict confidence. This serves two purposes:
It encourages witnesses to speak freely and without fear of retaliation.
It protects the potential defendant's reputation in case the jury does not decide to indict.