LAWSUIT FILED OVER PUBLIC DEFENDER A Eureka criminal defense attorney on Friday filed a petition with the Humboldt County courthouse asking for a court order to fire the public defender that started in February. Patrik Griego, an attorney with the Janssen Malloy law firm, petitioned the court to compel county officials to fire David Marcus on the grounds the public defender is unqualified. Griego also asked for a judge to declare the county’s hiring process for the county’s top defense position is unlawful.…
The Jury System by Kenneth Jost Are major changes needed? Should peremptory challenges be abolished? 1. What is at issue? What is the claim behind this issue?…
A writer’s sense of satisfaction originates not from his or her completion of a piece, but from his or her technical expertise. Writers whom develop subtle, yet remarkable symbols or use syntax to reveal a character’s opinion or personality, are what every other writer aspires to be. For this reason, many writers are impressed by Reginald Rose because he uses syntax to convey the pathos, ethos, and logos of individual jury members as they discuss, argue, and debate the merits of the presented case. Typically, people present the facts behind their reasoning in short, simple sentences; likewise, people persuade their audience by utilizing compound sentences.…
The play Inherit The Wind by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence takes place in Hillsboro, a rural settlement where a schoolteacher by the name of Bertram Cates, is charged with violating the Butler Act. The act enforces that if anyone, more specifically, any teacher, who teaches about the creation of mankind, shall reference the Bible; scripts or documents written by Charles Darwin or any other philosopher shouldn’t influence anyone about the foundation of mankind. Consequently, Cates is now burdened with disrespect and disgust from the townspeople. On the other hand, he’s encumbered with fines, and/or imprisonment. Although it can be argued that what Cates announced to his students shouldn’t call for harsh punishments, back in 1925, breaking the Butler Act was equivalent to…
The Secret Power of Jury Nullification Response In the Podcast “The Life of the Law, Episode 1, The Secret Power of Jury Nullification”, Shannon Heffernan explains the often overlook power of jury nullification in the U.S. court system. She defines nullification as, when a jury is convinced that a defendant is guilty but find the defendant innocent anyway. Heffernan provides examples of cases throughout history that aid the idea that nullification among juries can potentially benefit courtroom justice. She also weights its negative effects that cause potentially major injustices in courtrooms.…
Ladies and gentleman of the jury: The Pigman by Paul Zindel is an exceptional piece of literature that is great for projects. With only a few shortcomings, The Pigman is a great choice for young adult readers looking for a true, raw story and is a favorable pick among schools. To begin, the story is narrated by John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen, two teenagers in the late sixties. Through a difficult series of events, they learn responsibility. This responsibility is a maturity which is portrayed differently than your average "coming of age" story.…
The founding fathers of the United States feared the development of an oppressive government. To counter this, the founding fathers developed a system of checks and balances that directly includes the people. The right to a jury trial has a central role in the American justice system that prevents unlawful acts from being continued. Thus, juries have a political significance outside the judicial branch. The jury system acts as a check on government power preventing government officials from making laws that are morally wrong.…
When the jurors are “placed in a cramped box and held up there for days or even weeks at a time” (Document B), then their decision may be slightly different due to their boredom and/or want to leave. This may not always be a problem; however, I know that if I was trapped there and not allowed to leave until the jury came to a decision, then I might just throw in the towel of what I actually believe and just go with the majority vote. Another reason that this example verdict may not be correct is judges have a “reasoned and professional judgment” (Document B), but I cannot say the same for juries. A jury is by no means professional, as they are random citizens that know from a range of nothing about law or omniscient about law. This is proven by cartoon 1 of Document where near three-fourths of the jury are focusing on something other than the trial (Document…
On November 22, 2016, I sat in courtroom 507 of the Fresno County Superior Court, under the Honorable Judge Timothy Kams. Judge Kams was conducting a jury selection for a jury trial dealing with a felony DUI case. During the jury selection, I witnessed a Venire. A venire or jury pool, is a master list or jury list, from which a petit panel is selected, typically is based on names drawn from voter registration lists or lists of licensed drivers over eighteen years of age (Lippmann, 2014, p.518). I also witnessed a Voir Dire.…
“May it please the court, your honor, opposing council, members of the jury - an impossible burden means an impossible conviction,” Sophomore Lora Randa said to a crowd of people gathered in a courtroom in Eau Claire on Feb. 11. Tension and competition filled the room as she continued to tell the story of an innocent girl being accused of first degree reckless homicide. Randa is a dedicated member of the school’s Mock Trial team and is the attorney that closes the case for the defence.…
In a criminal trial, a jury is a group usually comprised of twelve randomly chosen adults, whose role is to hear evidence, apply the law as directed by the judge, and then collectively decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crime they have been accused of, based only on the facts given. Juries have played a significant role in Australia’s justice system for quite some time, though in more recent years the role of juries has been reduced. In 2011, the NSW government changed the law so that accused persons could apply for judge alone trials and, with consent from the Director of Public, avoid juries entirely (Whitbourn 2013). Currently there is much debate as to whether or not the jury system should be scrapped entirely for criminal trials in NSW.…
Over the years, jury systems have precedent the way we reach a verdict based on the trial. Moreover, it has been proven that jury systems have shaped Americans to be self-governors (Document B). Evidence shows that in a twelve month period bench trials have only 65 percent of criminals that have been convicted and 87 percent of criminals have been convicted in jury trials (Document A). This proves that jury systems are able to prosecute more and deliver more justice than bench trials. To begin, I support jury systems based on open minded peers reaching a verdict, prevention of corruption, and civic participation/knowledge for citizens.…
The leadership during this deliberation is an important role because thanks to juror #1, many times the order was stablished and also to juror #8 the facts were examined. It is important to take this group decision process as a serious things because it can be applied in our daily life, but in this case it was to save somebody’s…
Developed trustworthiness between jurors is an ice-breaker encourage to discuss the case fairly and without prejudging the…
Throughout the early 1900’s, women were viewed by society as inferior to men. Those of the female sex were expected to cook, clean, and only speak when spoken to. Susan Glaspell criticizes these concepts in one of the most well known forms of feminist literature, “A Jury of Her Peers”. The story’s central point focuses on the murder of John Wright committed by his wife Minnie as the Hales and the Peters investigate the crime scene. Despite the women finding valuable evidence substantiating the crime, their husbands viewed their discoveries as petty trifles that only women worry about.…