89
votes
Accepted
Why are lawyers typically excluded from juries?
Technically anyone can sit on a jury. Lawyers are not automatically excluded from juries anymore, as being called for jury duty is a right and a duty that the law abhors automatically excluding people ...
- 11k
81
votes
Why are common people selected for jury duty?
Because it's explicitly a jury of your peers
That is, every person is entitled to have their guilt or innocence decided by people "like them" - not kings, lords or, heaven forbid, lawyers.
...
- 170k
63
votes
Accepted
Jurors not allowed to talk to each other during the trial?
Overview
The rule on whether jurors may discuss a case before closing arguments is almost always a matter of statewide law and not a decision left to a particular judge in a particular case.
There is ...
- 159k
59
votes
Should I serve jury duty when I have no respect for the judge?
If this judge is truly biased, won't the litigants be all the more glad to have a jury of their peers? You are proposing to abandon your duty to others. At trial you serve the community, not the judge....
- 1,110
39
votes
Accepted
How can Edward Snowden be denied a jury trial?
The trial at issue is a civil trial over the publication of his book Permanent Record and the non-disclosure agreement that he signed connected to his employment, see the DoJ announcement, which also ...
- 184k
38
votes
Accepted
What is the penalty for a bad-acting juror?
united-states
This will vary somewhat by jurisdiction. But in most US states:
Bob happily blabs to the media and exposes all the other jurors and what they've said and who they are. All for some ...
- 110k
36
votes
Accepted
Is a potential juror protected for what they say during jury selection?
united-states
The jury selection process (voir dire) is normally done in open court. Walter's statements would be heard by anyone present. Reporters can be present, and may choose to publish accounts, ...
- 110k
34
votes
Should I serve jury duty when I have no respect for the judge?
If you honestly feel that your personal relationship with any of he court officers will affect your ability to be impartial and unbiased in the case then you have a duty to inform the court of this. ...
- 170k
34
votes
Why are common people selected for jury duty?
Because that is the goal in common law!
The US jury system is based on picking a group of "randoms" from the street that form a jury of their peers of the accused - That is what the US ...
- 22k
33
votes
Accepted
In USA, is it possible to end up being called to jury duty even if you have not registered to vote?
Yes, it is possible. The requirements are (1) you are a citizen (the burden is on the prospective juror to pay attention to that requirement) and (2) the court knows that you exist and calls you up ...
- 184k
31
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of not having jury trials for juveniles?
The government has the choice
They can prosecute the child for a crime in the adult system and the defendant then has the right to a jury, or they can refer the matter to the juvenile justice system (...
- 170k
30
votes
Accepted
In the US are jurors actually judging guilt?
Short answer, yes, jurors will typically render a decision of guilt vs. innocence. This is pretty common in nations where the legal system is derived from British Common Law (about 2 billion people ...
- 19.2k
28
votes
Impeachment jury tampering
No. Several elements of the crimes defined at 18 USC 1503 and 1504 would be absent, not least of which is that the Senate isn't actually a jury but a legislative body that is only partly analogous to ...
- 29.2k
28
votes
Accepted
Why don't people who are untruthful during jury selection get held in contempt of court?
Why don't people who are untruthful during jury selection get held in
contempt of court?
The premise of the title question is incorrect. Jurors are regularly held in contempt of court for being ...
- 159k
23
votes
Accepted
Why was Joe Arpaio not given a jury trial?
Some of the documents are here. As document 61 of the trial, the government motion for bench trial, argues,
There is no constitutional right to a jury trial for criminal contempt
charges ...
- 184k
22
votes
Accepted
Are juries able to ask questions during a trial?
First, while Law and Order should not be taken as an accurate depiction of a New York trial, it especially should not be taken as an accurate depiction of an Australian trial. Australian law, while it ...
- 21.9k
22
votes
Accepted
I lost my jury summons, what can I do?
For the New York State Unified Court System, you can consult their Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.nyjuror.gov/juryQandA.shtml#Q6.
What if my summons or questionnaire is lost?
Contact ...
- 29.2k
21
votes
Are jurors instructed to not be influenced by the emotions of the witnesses?
No. Jurors generally do not receive such an instruction and it is not a rule of law or evidence. Jurors have to rule in accordance with the law, but how they judge the credibility of witnesses may be ...
- 159k
18
votes
Accepted
Are jurors allowed to teach law to one another?
I finally found the actual transcript of the voir dire part of the case mentioned in the question.
http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=2012090614295190
As can be evidenced from the ...
- 4,918
17
votes
Accepted
Can a judge legally forbid a jury from Nullifying a verdict if they ask him about it before rendering a verdict
Can the judge flat out tell the jury that they cannot vote to nullify the verdict?
He can but this kind of "jury nullification" makes little sense and is obvious that is not possible. A ...
- 1,566
17
votes
Accepted
Do U.S. courts have to select a jury that's racially representative?
No.
The government may not establish laws to keep members of a particular race out of the jury pool. Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303, (1879) (“The statute of West Virginia, which, in effect, ...
- 49.2k
17
votes
Is there any recourse if a defendant was found guilty due to an unknowingly false claim made by a juror during deliberations swaying jurors?
canada
What should have happened
Jurors will be instructed along the following lines (Model Jury Instructions, 8.4 - Outside Information):
The only information that you may consider is the evidence ...
- 11.7k
16
votes
Why are common people selected for jury duty?
When the jury first began to be used in trials of criminals in England, back in the late 1100s, jury members were people from their local area who were supposed to know, either personally or by "...
- 110k
15
votes
Can a judge legally forbid a jury from Nullifying a verdict if they ask him about it before rendering a verdict
To begin with, jury nullification is not a separate act. It’s not like the jury verdict can be one of “Guilty”, “Not guilty” or “Nullified”.
Instead, a juror says something like “The guy’s pretty sus ...
- 331
15
votes
Why are common people selected for jury duty?
Many laws refer to the concept of a "reasonable" person. For example, someone is negligent if they do something a reasonable person would not have done, or fail to do something a reasonable ...
- 579
15
votes
Accepted
Can I ask for a Judge Trial - UK
There is nothing (that I can find) that allows for a defendant to elect for a trial without a jury in the Crown Court but such trials are possible, if there is evidence of jury tampering, under ...
- 30k
15
votes
Accepted
Is there any recourse if a defendant was found guilty due to an unknowingly false claim made by a juror during deliberations swaying jurors?
It is an almost-universal rule that a juror cannot testify to impeach a jury verdict. FRE 606 says
A juror may not testify as a witness before the other jurors at the
trial...
During an inquiry into ...
- 184k
14
votes
How does the law guarantee true disregard by jurors?
You can't guarantee a juror's disregard, and some attorneys might utilize the "once it's said, it can't be unsaid" strategy because they know that the jury will still keep it in the back of their mind ...
- 4,235
13
votes
Accepted
Why 12 Jurors, why not 11, 10, 9, 1?
The origin of the jury is a complex mix of Saxon, Danish and Norman custom which morphed and melded along with English Common Law, which is the basis of the law in all ex-British colonies including ...
- 170k
13
votes
How can Edward Snowden be denied a jury trial?
A judge only trial (aka a bench trial) is possible in the United States, though it must be requested by the defense (essentially the defense waives its right to trial by jury, in which case the judge ...
- 19.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible