Chapter 9 - The Jury

will be on midterm

Trial by Jury…. general idea abt what it entails

• Integral part of American criminal justice system

• Serve an important function

• Although, have come into some disrepute for not guilty verdicts in cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial, Lorena Bobbitt, etc

Where did the term “juries” originate?

• Originated in ancient Athens & Rome

During the middle ages a person accused of a crim faced trial by ordeal meaning…

• Defendant performed dangerous tasks

  • Walking on burning coals, or removing a rock from boiling water

• Survival or being uninjured proved innocence, otherwise the accused was adjudged guilty

What does Article III, Section 2 of Constitution mean?

criminal trial right to jury

Expounded on w/ the 6th Amendment meaning what?

• Right to jury trial “by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed”

• Vague details

  • Details left to courts & legislatures to consider, e.g. what crimes? What's the jury's role in the trial? Size of jury? Etc. 

For the finders of fact what does that mean?

• Almost unlimited discretion in how it interprets the evidence & determines the facts of a case

• Ex: the jury does not need to believe a witness simply bc he or she was under oath when testifying. A jury can believe or disbelieve any or all of a witness’ testimony

Consideration is limited to what is presented in court…

• Juries CANNOT conduct their own investigations, look up info on the case online, or read scientific journals to determine whether the forensic evidence is valid, etc. this will result in a mistrial

5th Amendment does what?

• Provides the Defendant the right not to testify

• Jury cannot consider the fact that Defendant did not testify for any purpose

What does possible punishment mean?

• Jury cannot consider punishment in decision

• Even in death penalty cases, the separate penalty phase is only entered into AFTER the jury finds the defendant guilty on the underlying murder charge

• Possible punishment/sentencing is irrelevant to a dispassionate evaluation of the evidence

Once a jury has determined the facts of the case…(it is their duty to do what?)

it is their duty to apply the facts to the law

The Law is given to the jurors through Jury instructions

• Includes general information regarding burden of proof, credibility, etc.

• Also includes specific elements of the crimes & any defenses asserted in the trial

What does the Bill of Rights have to do w/ the jury?

• Guaranteed right to jury trial only for federal prosecutions

Still the law to this day–

• no right to jury trial for offense carrying a possible penalty of less than 6 months incarceration

Tell about the jury size

• 12 member juries has long been the norm & still is in most states

• Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require 12 members for federal trials 

• SCOTUS has said a jury of less than 12 is not constitutional, so the states can decide 

• Six is the fewest # of jurors permissible, & less than 6 is unconstitutional  

What are unanimous verdicts?

• Traditionally required

• Legitimizes the verdict

• Required in most states 

• From 1972-2020, SCOTUS said non-unanimous verdicts were constitutional. Only Louisiana & Oregon allowed non-unanimous verdicts 

• As of today (this most recent case),  the SCOTUS in Ramos v. Louisiana held that verdicts must be unanimous in state felony trials

What are the 2 goals of the jury selection process

1. Fair cross section of the community included as potential jurors

2. The selection of an unbiased group of individuals w/ regard to the case on which they serve

The Jury Selection Process has how many stages?

3 Stages 

1. Stage - Master Jury List or Jury Wheel

• 1st step of the jury selection process involves a jurisdictions establishing a master list or jury wheel of potential jurors w/in its jurisdictional boundaries who can be chosen at random to report for jury duty

• “Key-man” system – used up until 1960s in most jurisdictions 

  • Leaders ( or the key-men of a jurisdiction) were sought for input as to who should be placed on the master list of potential jurors 

  • Did not result in a fair cross section of the population – resulted in mostly upper middle class, middle-aged, white men in the jury list 

STAGE 1 CONT. - Master Jury List

• Jury selection & Service Act

  • Required that all litigants in the federal courts have their juries selected at random from a fair cross section of the community 

• SCOTUS in 1975 declared that the 6th Amendment required that juries be selected from an impartially drawn jury panel representing a cross section of the community

  • It's not required that each jury actually be representative of the community 

• After these changes to the federal law – most states abandoned use of the key-man system

Where do we get the impartially drawn master jury lists?

• Voter registration lists, drivers’ license lists, utility directories, etc. or some combination thereof 

For each time period, usually a month, the jury commissioner…

determines the amount  of jurors needed for that time period 

Names are selected at random from the master jury list & jury summons are sent AND THEN WHAT?

• Results in shockingly low return rates

• Mostly due to the inconvenience of jury service

STAGE 2 - From Venire to Jury Panel

• Venire

  • The group of individuals  who report for jury duty at a given time 

  • In large jurisdictions, hundreds of jurors can be summoned for a particular day

  • Members of the venire are usually asked to fill out a questionnaire as to their background, previous experience as a juror, etc. 

• Jury Panel

  • Set # of randomly selected venire members who are assigned to a particular court

  • Size of the group will depend on the type of case & the amount of jurors needed 

STAGE 3 - Voir Dire

• Prospective jurors

  • Questioned under oath by the judge & attorneys as to their fitness to serve on that particular jury

  • The point is to ensure that the jurors can render a verdict fairly & impartially in the case

• Some jurisdictions do not allow attorneys to ask questions, but they can submit questions for the judge to ask

The 2 ways a juror can be removed from the jury panel during voir dire and what are they?

Challenges for Cause & Peremptory Challenges

Challenge for cause 

• Juror cannot be fair

• Attorney submitting the challenge for cause must submit a legal reason

  • Ex: explicitly stated bias on the basis on race, gender, etc. having been a victim of the type of crime the defendant is charged w/, having a close relationship to a party to the case, etc.

  • Potential for unlimited challenges for cause

Peremptory challenge 

• Jurors unfavorable to either side. Amount of peremptory challenges usually limited by statute 

• Cannot target specific group

Allowing jurors to take notes 

• Helps jurors recall what they saw & heard during the trial

• Jury is usually instructed that the fact that a juror took notes does not make that juror’s memory more reliable than that of a juror who did not take notes 

allowing jurors to ask questions of witnesses 

• Encourages listening & participation

• Questions must be relevant & likely to elicit admissible testimony 

• Questions are written down & submitted to the judge, who then goes over the questions w/ the attorneys (outside of the jury' s presence) & they all agree on which questions should or should not be asked of the witness

• Jurors are usually instructed that they should not make any inference as to why a question was or was not asked of a witness or consider that fact for any purpose

Written copies of instructions of law for each juror

• Easier to comprehend when they can listen & read along

  • Both written & oral (judge reads them at the conclusion of the trial)

  • Improves the quality of the deliberations 

• Jurors are given written copies to take w/ them into the jury room for deliberations

Providing jurors w/ a trial notebook…

• May contain:

  • Jury instructions

  • Witness lists w/ photographs

  • Key documents & exhibits 

• Improve effective & efficient deliberation & makes it easier for jurors to follow along w/ the trial

• Implementation of the above types of jury reform varies greatly from state to state

What is jury nullification?

It means - a jury refuses to apply a law & convict a particular defendant as it would result in an unfair & unjust result

• In other words, the jury refuses to find a defendant guilty even if he clearly is, based upon a sense of justice & fairness

The decision of a jury to engage in jury nullification AND WHAT??

& return a not guilty verdict is not reviewable (appealable) 

a Jury can only nullify for?

an acquittal

Why and when would a jury do this (jury nullification)?

Controversial or unpopular laws

Is jury nullification viewed harshly by courts?

• Not technically allowed 

• The judge will remove jurors who will nullify if discovered prior to deliberations