CRMJ 254 Lecture 10: Week 10 Notes CRMJ 254
19 May 2018
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Week 10 – Juries, Jury Selection, and the Trial Process
Trials (and jury trials) are possible in civil matters also… But we will be
focusing on criminal trials and jury selection for those!
6th Amendment and Criminal Trials - A Trial: The “Exceptional Case”
• The majority of prosecutions (whether for felony or misdemeanor) end
in a guilty plea
• Severity of charge is most critical factor in whether defendant will
exercise right to trial
o Typically, murder, felonious assault, or rape are more likely to
result in a trial than other charges
o Bench trial = conducted by a judge
o Jury trial = consists of members of a community
Language of 6th amendment has been clarified over the years…
• All criminal defendants have the right to trial…but not all defendants
have a right to a trial by jury
o Only defendants facing more than six months’ incarceration if
convicted have right to jury trial
Jury Trial
• A legal process by which members of the community evaluate facts to
determine if the government has established legal guilt (guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt according to legally-admissible evidence
Jury Trial Basics
• Trial jury is also known as petit jury
• Most criminal trial juries consist of 12 jurors, but… smaller juries are
permitted in some jurisdictions under certain circumstances
o William v. Florida (1970): use of juries with as few as 6 members
was upheld (controversial decision!)
o Burch v. Louisiana (1979): 6-member juries must vote
unanimously to convict
• Most (but not all) states require unanimous verdicts in jury trials
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
What are the basic requirements to serve as a juror?
• U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years of age
• Prior felony convictions?
o Restrictions placed on convicted felons vary by state
o In many states, convicted felons cannot serve unless no longer
under correctional supervision and civil rights have been formally
restored by the courts
- Any exemptions are decided on a case-by-case basis!
Typical jury duty summons form…
• Potential jurors, receive one like this along with a letter informing them
of their dates of jury duty service
• Asks a number of questions to determine if recipient meets basic
requirements to join the jury pool
• Whether they will be actually chosen to serve on a particular trial will
be determined during jury selection at court!
• Failing to appear at jury duty (unless one has been excused) is a
criminal offense!
How are trial juries (petit juries) selected?
o Jury pool is identified and potential jurors then submit to voir dire
examination
Jury pool is Identified
• Jurisdictions use different sources to get names of potential jurors
o The jury pool is selected on a random basis using a source list of
community residents (registered voters, MVA records…)
• The term (“jury duty”) that jury pools serve vary from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction
o “one-day, one-trial rule” is commonplace today… Show up for
jury duty for one day only, but must serve for an entire trial if
selected as a juror
Voir Dire
• “To speak the truth”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
