Criminal Courts - Chapter 9

Right to trial by jury

• The Sixth Amendment guarantees a person accused of a crime the right to a trial by an impartial jury 

• Rationale: prevent the oppression of defendants by the government, particularly to protect them from possible corrupt, overzealous, or biased prosecutors and judges

• Note: the Seventh Amendment guaranteed the defendant the right to jury trials in federal civil cases ( if the value exceeds $20). Most states also guarantee the right. ‘

• The right to trial by jury is only guaranteed when involving “serious offenses,” meaning offenses in which the maximum potential sentence if convicted exceeds 6 months of imprisonment 

• Maxim sentence of 6 months or less? Considered a “petty ( or summary”) offense, and there is no federal constitutional right to a jury trial. 

Other limitations

• No right to trial by jury if charged with multiple petty offenses, none of which individually carry a penalty of more than 6 months' incarceration. 

  • No right to a jury trial if charged with multiple petty offensese that combined exceed 6 months of incarceration 

• The right to a jury trial does not extend to, for example: 

  • Juevenile court 

Probation violations 

Roles of the jury

• In general, the jury’s role in the criminal trial process is that of a “fact-finder.”

• Responsible for considering the (often conflicting) evidence presented to them, determining what the facts & reaching a verdict (making determinations about guilt) 

• Jurors are not permitted to conduct their own investigations, weigh a defendant's refusal to testify, or consider the consequences of their verdict - defendants do not have to testify 

Trial jury system

• Over time, the trial system has evolved in a few areas, including 

  • Jury size (12) - the number of jurors needed to conduct a fair trial 

  • Unanimity requirement- whether all the jurors must agree on a verdict 

Jury size