Questions tagged [jury]
A panel of "peers" (often of 12) selected from the citizenry that acts as a "trier of fact" in a court case.
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In a criminal RICO trial, on a particular count, what elements can be shared among the co-defendants?
The Georgia 2020 Election subversion case (a RICO of the Georgia State variety) is quite complex in that there are 19 defendants who are charged with one or more counts from the list of 41 distinct ...
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Do jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience?
It is in the news that someone is being prosecuted for holding up a placard stating: “Jurors: you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience.” outside the
crown court ...
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How would a potential Juror report another as not suited to be in a jury?
The only time I was ever called for jury duty while waiting with potential Jurors I spoke to one who essentially said that she believed that a trial would only happen if the cops had definitive proof ...
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Does Trump have the right to waive a jury trial and request a bench trial in the classified documents case?
In the Federal criminal case against Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, does former president Trump have the ability to waive a jury trial and request a bench trial?
Given ...
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For what causes can a judge dismiss a juror? E.g. 17 year old defendant, juror said she believes video games contribute to violence
Is something like that prejudicial enough that the juror should be dismissed by the judge? Because it feels like that juror is just a sympathetic peer; do we dismiss people who are sympathetic? I ...
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What is the dresscode for jurors in Australian courts? [closed]
Are there any rules and regulations jurors in Australian courts have to abide by when it comes to how they are dressed in court? If so, what would be the consequences of violating them? Can jurors be ...
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Jury (mis)conduct [closed]
If I have to attend a jury in Australia, is it illegal for me to dress up in the goofiest manner? Is it possible for me to be accused of misconduct on that ground?
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Is a Tenant Entitled to a Jury Trial in an Eviction Case?
Is a tenant entitled to request a jury trial?
If yes, does it matter if the tenant is being evicted for nonpayment of rent vs. the Summary Dispossess Act in an owner occupied premises?
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Can someone use good deeds to "bribe" their way to innocence?
Question inspired by Yakuza Judgement.
Carl, the huge rich criminal, is on trial for a murder he obviously committed. But during the trial, he looks at the 12 jurors and says
"if you let me go, I ...
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Is it a valid attorney strategy to make statements, even if they will be striken from the record?
Similar to how, in football/soccer, players strategically go for fouls because they're effective. Is it common practice for an attorney to bring up inadmissable evidence/points that, even though they ...
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If the Jury considers evidence that should be discarded in the US, what would the result be?
This comes from the movie A Guilty Conscience, which may be one of the best movies of the past 20 years in Hong Kong and its box office is the highest ever.
Movie Spoiler Warning
What if the defendant'...
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Why no right to a jury trial in Espionage Act trials?
Why are defendants in trials for alleged criminal violations of the 1917 US Espionage Act, -- as, say, Julian Assange would be if extradited to the US -- not afforded the same right to an open and ...
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If I am out of the country for a long time, am I liable for missed Jury Duty?
Say that I spend a few years traveling the world, visiting Europe, Asia, Africa, etc.. Then I come back to my home in the California to find missed several Jury Duty summons in the mail.
Am I liable ...
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Are there any limits on being "overly selective" during Jury Selection?
Say Andy the attorney is trying to defend Nathan the Nazi in a criminal court case. During Jury Selection, where potential jurors are vetted, what is stopping Andy from saying that every Nazi-hater is ...
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Is there any recourse if a defendant was found guilty due to an unknowingly false claim made by a juror during deliberations swaying jurors?
I know that often a potential juror who is a lawyer, or anyone with direct expertise relevant to a case, will be removed by one side or the other. However, this doesn't always happen, if for example ...
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Can prosecutors and/or judges be sued for dereliction of duty when they change charges to avoid a jury trial?
Scenario (Utah, USA): A defendant is arraigned at a pre-trial hearing. Charges include driving without insurance and driving with an expired license.
State law declares that those who do these things ...
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Not smart enough for jury duty
Someone I know is not mentally handicapped but has hard time understanding things and often needs to have private tutoring to grasp a concept. This person is potentially being selected for jury duty. ...
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Why don't people who are untruthful during jury selection get held in contempt of court?
This question is U.S. based.
I ask this because recently I was summoned for jury duty. When we were in the courtroom, the judge asked each of the jurors in the box a list of questions. One of them ...
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Are jurors allowed to disquallify each other?
Say Mike the Murderer is on trial and there's no doubt he's the murderer. 12 jurors meet. All of them think he's obviously guilty, except for one David the dissenter.
Is there any way the other 11 ...
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How is the quality of an expert witness judged?
When bringing in an expert to testify something, obviously that expert doesn't have to bring in their resume and go through 3 rounds of interviewing with every member of the jury, as if they were ...
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Is a potential juror protected for what they say during jury selection?
Walter and Bob are potential jurors for the same trial for a white supremacist. Walter happens to believe in white supremacy. Bob happens to be Walter's boss (or even just a potential employer).
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Can I ask for a Judge Trial - UK
In the UK, at least by my understanding, most trials are heard in a magistrates' court without a jury. Only the most serious crimes are heard in the Crown Court and require a jury verdict.
However, if ...
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As a citizen, we have the right to a speedy and fair trial by jury of our PEERS. How does a group of one's peers present their attendance to a judge?
A defendant has the right to be tried by his peers. A group of the defendant's peers want to attend the trial as these peers. How do we confront the judge with our rights to be those peers? Peers are ...
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Is it a requirement that jurors of a state prosecution be residents of the state that brought the legal proceedings?
Would a jury of your peers preclude jury members of neighboring states from deciding on your guilt? Is there any geographical consideration of who and what is considered your peers? I'm asking ...
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Potential jurors in a state election fraud scheme-conflict of interest?
Obviously this question was inspired by recent events in the United States, specifically the state of Georgia. It applies more generally though to any such case. I thought that in order to be a ...
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How are huge demonstrations outside a court house dealt with?
For example, during Bill Cosby's trial, there were huge crowds with signs screaming all over outside the courthouse. I assume that every juror had to walk across that every day to get to the court.
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Can you force the Supreme Court to hear a lawsuit by including all other judges as defendants?
If all judges with jurisdiction over a case have a conflict of interest, they do not have to recuse themselves. If a lawsuit is filed against several people, it can be dismissed partially, with only ...
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What is the purpose of not having jury trials for juveniles?
In the US, there is no right to trial by jury in juvenile court. I don't remember the SCOTUS case where that was decided, but IIRC the basis of the decision was that violations committed by juveniles ...
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Is citizenship a requirement for jury duty?
Would a permanent resident be asked to do jury duty, or must a juror be a citizen? What are the rules of who is eligible for jury duty? Are there people in the US who go their whole lives and never do ...
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"Sentence first, verdict afterwards"?
In Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts said during a trial, "Sentence first, verdict afterwards." Are there any common law countries where this could be legal? Could the judge say "...
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Are judges still making decisions in the Crown Court?
If a judge's main duty mainly revolves on decision-making, what about Crown Court judges?
Since juries are deployed in a small percentage of cases at the crown court and they are the ones who make the ...
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What percentage of jury trials are unclear verdicts at start, vs cases where defended really should have plead for lesser charges?
My, limited, understanding of the US legal system is that pretty much everyone will be offered a plea bargain before going to trial. That would imply to me that the only people that end up in trial ...
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What is the penalty for a bad-acting juror?
Let's say Bob is part of the jury during a trial. But Bob is a dishonest/bad juror. What penalties could he face, and what party would be prosecuting him?
The particular scenarios I have in mind are:
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Why are common people selected for jury duty?
Why are common people selected to be the jury in the USA? Shouldn't people that know the law to decide criminal's fate? Why pick just some twelve random people to be the jury and decide the outcome ...
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How can one not know their own legal marital status?
I saw this screenshot floating around for a California jury duty online questionnaire. Notice that "Not known" is a selectable option for one's marital status:
(image redacted)
I don't know ...
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What are the constraints on a civil suit (witnesses, evidence, topics) - and are they public
I am currently watching the Depp/Heard trial, and there seems to be a lot of stuff that cannot be shown, or said, and a lot of people i would expect to make a statement are absent.
My guess is that ...
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Under US law, what happens if it is not possible to gather an impartial jury?
In 2017, Martin Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud and sentenced to prison. The transcripts of his jury selection show that there was some difficulty in finding jurors who would admit to being ...
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Is it contempt of court to indicate in voir dire you will never find someone guilty of a drug crime
In a trial involving drug charges During voir dire a juror volunteered the statement “I believe criminalizing drugs is morally wrong and will never convict someone of drug crimes.”
Is this contempt ...
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Consequences of introducing inadmissible evidence to the judge and jury
Evidence may be inadmissible, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be ineffectual in its influence of the jury, and the judge. For example, evidence proving a horrendous crime done by the accused,...
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Can a juror's vote count as the opposite of their actual vote if they explicitly state they vote against their opinion?
Suppose there is a hypothetical situation in which a person on a jury becomes infatuated with a criminal defendant. Suppose they make this explicitly clear during jury deliberations. For example, ...
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Is it more difficult to convict politicians because of juries?
Let's say a politician is charged with a crime that is normally punishable by prison. But one or more people on the jury is/are of the same party as that politician and thinks they did nothing wrong ...
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Is a lawyer allowed to point an unloaded gun at the jury, if it's just for a demonstration?
I understand that sometimes arms have factual bearing on cases and have to be entered into evidence but how anyone managed to point a gun at a jury and not get rugby tackled by a bailiff is beyond me. ...
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Finding record of jury selection (peremptory challenges and challenges for cause) on PACER?
I am looking for records of the jury selection process in federal U.S. cases.
I am particularly interested in records indicating the names of prospective jurors and whether they were challenged ...
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How many murder trials take place in America each year?
A handful of murder trials get extensive media coverage each year for a variety of reasons. In November 2021 the two hot trials are the State of Wisconsin vs Kyle Rittenhouse and State of Georgia vs ...
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In a civil case against the US gov't, complaint was not contested by defendant; can the judge reject a request of the plaintiff without a hearing?
There is a (valid) civil lawsuit which was filed against the US government, its agencies and officers at a district federal court. The plaintiff did not ask for a jury.
The US government (through the ...
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Is there any way to stop a rogue jury from making a deliberately bad decision?
It seems to me that juries potentially have the ability to deliberately and maliciously make decisions they know are wrong. For example, a jury might happen to say, "We know he's guilty, but we'...
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Do U.S. courts have to select a jury that's racially representative?
Do U.S. courts have to select a jury that's racially representative? I am wondering if there's a legal obligation of that sort nationwide, or if it varies by state, or if no such consideration needs ...
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How does one find jury members for highly publicized issues?
An extension of How does one find a judge for highly publicized issues?
The answer to that question says that judges can adjudicate a case even if they had prior knowledge of the facts, and can be ...
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What happens if I never receive my CA jury duty summons in the mail?
This question is strictly hypothetical, but what happens if I never receive a Jury Duty Summons in the state of CA in the mail? Theerefore, I miss whatever trial/week I was assigned to, because I ...
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Is the following case about jury nullification true?
Let's say that someone lied about jury nullification in order to get on a jury with the intent to nullify, and they then get indicted for perjury. If they just demanded a trial by jury, would the ...
