“Jury service is one of the most important civic duties you can perform. The protection of rights and liberties in federal courts largely is achieved through the teamwork of a judge and jury” (http://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service). Many times people are not thrilled when they are summons for jury duty as people see it as an inconvenience. Since a person could hold resentment for having to serve on a jury there is a chance they choose not contribute to the decision making.
The purpose of the jury is to be the finder of fact. The jury is to determine the truth or falsity of the allegations then they render a verdict based on the facts presented by the prosecution and defense. The rules of a juror; only the facts of the case can
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be considered. Jurors take directions relating to the law from the judge regardless if the juror agrees or disagrees. The juror must remain uninfluenced by any other person, remain impartial and independent. Statements are confidential that are made in the jury room. The Constitutions of the United States and the State of Minnesota guarantee defendants in criminal cases and litigants in civil cases the right to a trial by jury. As a prospective juror, you have an opportunity to participate directly in a critical component of our democracy. Failure to appear for jury service is a misdemeanor offense that is punishable by up to a $1,000.00 fine and up to 90 days in jail (per Minn. Stat. ch. 593). If a person makes a decision not to participate in the decision making process under the MN statute § 631.09 631.09 JURY DELIBERATION; ACCOMMODATIONS. At the close of the evidence and after the court has charged the jury, the jury may decide the case in court or retire for deliberation. If the jury cannot agree on a verdict without retiring, the court shall swear one or more officers to take charge of the jury. The jury must be kept together in some private and convenient place. No person may be permitted to speak or communicate with any juror, unless by order of court, nor may a person listen to its deliberations. The jury must be returned to court upon agreeing on a verdict or when so ordered by the court. In case of mixed juries counties shall provide adequate, separate quarters for male and female jurors with proper accommodations. If the county fails to provide proper accommodations, the court shall order the jurors to be housed in a suitable hotel for the night. This section applies only if the jury has failed to agree. If a verdict cannot be reach after all avenues have been exhausted it will be a hung jury. When there is a hung jury, the case may be brought to another trial. Voir dire is the selection process for the jury, during this process people who have potential bias are dismissed.
It is possible for people to still hold bias as they go through the trial. The jurors are taking an oath and when they do not honor the oath they are being unethical.
After the jury hears all the facts of the case at trial, they are sent to the jury room for deliberation. How the juror chooses to deliberate is typically decided by the members of the jury while the jury foreman takes a lead. A majority of the time the jury will choose to take a vote on whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. It is important that the members of the jury understand and a agree on the process on which they will use to come to a decision. If members do not agree on the process there is a high probability they will not participate.
Serving on a jury is a challenge for any person. They are responsible for making a decision that will impact many people’s lives. Being that, the jury must use the facts to make the decision and make the decision without bias. A person needs to remain ethical when they take an oath to follow the rules of the court. When many people come together to make a decision it is important everyone is in agreement on how the process will proceed. When a person serving on a jury follows these they will feel confident in their
decision.
Jury duty is the obligation to serve on a jury. There are many reasons for being excused if summoned, here are some: having no public or private transportation or having to exceed 1 ½ hours to travel to the trial (http://www.courti…); if you are under 18 or older than 70 (choose not to serve), or if you are not a US resident with a home in the state (http://www.cga …); if you cannot speak or understand English; or is a constitutional officer, a family support magistrate, a judge, or a member of the general assembly (http://www.cga …). After being selected for jury duty, one is at risk of jury tampering which is a crime where someone attempts to influence the jury via means other than those presented during the trial (http://le...
Jurors will thoroughly inspect and weigh over the evidence provided, and process any and all possible scenarios through the elements of crime. If the evidence does not support the prosecutor 's argument and the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury must pronounce the defendant not guilty. If questionable or irrelevant evidence is included in the criminal proceeding, it is the duty of the prosecutor or defendant 's counsel to object and insist that the evidence be excluded by the presiding
There are hundreds of Americans who are selected for jury duty every day. Just like the characters many of them believe jury duty is a major conflict in their lives. They may say they do not have time to participate, which may be true, but the law will make sure you have time. As always, life and time keep going, and nobody wants to miss it. No one prefers to sit in court when they can be doing something productive but it is not going to kill them. Everyone deserves to have a jury hear them and surely they would want that for themselves.
This chapter is mainly devoted to the jury selection process and how it is taken care
Now that we have discussed the pretrial occurrences, we get into the trial portion of the court process. This is the portion of the process in which both the defense and the prosecution present their cases to the jury, the judge, and the rest of the courtroom. To select a jury, the bring in potential jurors and ask them questions,
So the first reading that convinced me having a jury system was a bad idea was document F. This was a passage from a book called Roughing It by Mark Twain. He talks about a murder that happened in Virginia and how a prominent banker and valued citizen was denied to be on the case because he knew about the case beforehand. This circulated in my head and did not make sense to me, the jury would rather be full of unvalued citizens who have no
The American Jury system has been around for quite some time. It was the original idea that the framers of the constitution had wanted to have implemented as a means of trying people for their illegal acts, or for civil disputes. The jury system has stood the test of time as being very effective and useful for the justice system. Now it has come into question as to if the jury system is still the best method for trials. In the justice system there are two forms of trials, one being the standard jury trial, where 12 random members of society come together to decide the outcome of something. The other option would be to have a bench trial. In a bench trial, the judge is the only one deciding the fate of the accused. While both methods are viable
As one of the seven jury deliberations documented and recorded in the ABC News television series In the Jury Room, the discussions of the jurors were able to be seen throughout the United States. A transcript was also created by ABC News for the public. The emotions and interactions of the jurors were now capable of being portrayed to anyone interested in the interworkings of jury deliberations. The first task, as instructed by the judge of the court, was for the jury to identify if the death penalty should be used.... ...
First, when individuals are appointed for a jury, several individuals will do anything to not be selected for the trial. For instance, my father has conveyed he was indisposed or he could not afford to miss work. Moreover, most individuals do not perceive being a juror as an honor being as a citizen, instead they see it as a burden. A substantial influence on this position is the remuneration, because individuals are missing work to serve. On average, an individual who is selected to be a juror makes about 30 to 40 dollars a day, a fraction of when he or she is working. For this
At trial, your life is in the palms of strangers who decide your fate to walk free or be sentenced and charged with a crime. Juries and judges are the main components of trials and differ at both the state and federal level. A respectable citizen selected for jury duty can determine whether the evidence presented was doubtfully valid enough to convict someone without full knowledge of the criminal justice system or the elements of a trial. In this paper, juries and their powers will be analyzed, relevant cases pertaining to jury nullification will be expanded and evaluated, the media’s part on juries discretion, and finally the instructions judges give or may not include for juries in the court. Introduction Juries are a vital object to the legal system and are prioritized as the most democratic element in our society, aside from voting, in our society today.
In the United States, jury trials are an important part of our court system. We rely heavily on the jury to decide the fate of the accused. We don’t give a second thought to having a jury trial now, but they were not always the ‘norm’.
A jury is a panel of citizens, selected randomly from the electoral role, whose job it is to determine guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented. The Jury Act 1977 (NSW) stipulates the purpose of juries and some of the legal aspects, such as verdicts and the right of the defence and prosecution to challenge jurors. The jury system is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society as members of the community ultimately decide whether the person is guilty or innocent. The creation of the Jury Amendment Act 2006 (NSW) enabled the criminal trial process to better represent the standards of society as it allowed majority verdicts of 11-1 or 10-2, which also allowed the courts to be more resource efficient. Majority verdicts still ensure that a just outcome is reached as they are only used if there is a hung jury and there has been considerable deliberation. However, the role of the media is often criticized in relation to ensuring that the jurors remain unbiased as highlighted in the media article “Independent Juries” (SMH, 2001), and the wide reporting of R v Gittany 2013 supports the arguments raised in the media article. Hence, the jury system is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society, as it resource efficient and achieves just outcomes, but the influence of the media reduces the effectiveness.
Today juries are much more diverse. Men, women, and people from diverse backgrounds are called to jury duty. Although the origin of the jury system is not clear, history has shown that William the Conqueror from Normandy introduced a similar system to England around 1066 CE (Judiciary of Vermont 1). After the American Revolutionary War, the jury system became the American ideal of justice. This essay will explore the history of the American jury system and illustrate how it has evolved over the course of the American history.
In almost all the countries where jury system is practices, juries have been seen as the best tool for ensuring equity and empowering citizens to determine and play a role in justice. According to Abramson (1994), the only way an ordinary citizen participates in government and injects community values in...
A jury system inquires fairness in a court case. A jury is “A group of citizens called to hear a trial of a criminal prosecution of a lawsuit, decide the factual questions of guilt or innocence or determine the prevailing party (winner) in a lawsuit and the amount to be paid, if any, by the loser” (Law.com Legal Dictionary 2014). As a jury member they are obligated to tell the truth and give an honest response. The jury system randomly selects 12 people for each court case. Once you are 18 years old and registered you can be selected for jury service. There are two categories of people who cannot serve and that is people who are excluded from the jury roll and who are exempt from jury service (NSW Government 2014). Those who are excluded are people with criminal convictions and who hold high positions in public office. Those exempted are due to their employment (NSW Government 2014). As a jury member you are expected to dress appropriately, be honest, and give fu...