90
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 ...
- 11.2k
80
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. ...
- 198k
64
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 ...
- 194k
60
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....
- 1,120
51
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of being tried by a "jury of your peers"?
The U.S. Supreme Court has explained in Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 156 (1968):
Those who wrote our constitutions knew from history
and experience that it was necessary to protect against
...
- 43.2k
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 ...
- 210k
38
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, ...
- 113k
37
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 ...
- 113k
35
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. ...
- 198k
35
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 ...
- 33.4k
34
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 ...
- 210k
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 ...
- 22.7k
30
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 (...
- 198k
29
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 ...
- 194k
29
votes
Do jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience?
canada
It is a de facto power, not a right
In Hohfeldian terms, the jury's ability to nullify is a de facto power not a right (see Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld, "Some Fundamental Legal Conceptions as ...
- 43.2k
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 ...
- 35.1k
25
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 ...
- 23.6k
24
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 ...
- 210k
23
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 ...
- 35.1k
23
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 ...
- 194k
22
votes
If the Jury considers evidence that should be discarded in the US, what would the result be?
The jury would never hear the recording
The recording and its provenience would be provided to the prosecution who would, rightly, have issues with its admissibility. The defence and prosecution would ...
- 198k
19
votes
What is the purpose of being tried by a "jury of your peers"?
Historical accident and path dependence
Specifically, in the case of the US Bill of Rights, it's that the Founding Fathers were rebels, not revolutionaries - they wanted to replace the leadership at ...
- 198k
18
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 "...
- 113k
18
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 ...
- 43.2k
18
votes
If the Jury considers evidence that should be discarded in the US, what would the result be?
If the jury brings in a verdict of "not guilty", even if they do so based on evidence that they should not have considered or for some other improper reason, the defendant is released and ...
- 29k
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 ...
- 1,586
17
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 ...
- 351
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, ...
- 57.2k
17
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 ...
- 210k
17
votes
Accepted
Why are jurors still asked to apply the law if their primary role is to find facts?
Sometimes, juries are asked to make pure findings of fact. These are called special verdicts, and they used to be more common, especially when juries decided civil cases.
For example, Trustees of ...
- 8,632
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible