Jury nullification is important to the study of race, class, gender, crime and the administration of justice because it can determine if there 's truly unfair treatment within the judicial system. It can also determine if the judgment of our peers is racially motivated or just. Jury nullification has roots in the English common law and it occurs when a jury believes that the evidence presented at the trial establishes the defendant’s…
For this assignment, I chose two articles that studied jury trials for juveniles. The first article; “The Verdict on Jury Trials for Juveniles: The Effects of Defendant’s Age on Trial Outcomes” studied the effect that the age of the defendant has on the jury’s verdict. The second article; “Jurors’ Perceptions of Juvenile Defendants: The Influence of Intellectual Disability, Abuse History, and Confession Evidence” studied the perception jurors have towards juvenile defendants. Both of these…
and justice. I need to keep the rights of my client, the plaintiff, safe from misuse. I have to also seek out that the truth, whether right or wrong, is found out. My role will bridge the gap from the witnesses to the jury. I will communicate what the witnesses know, to help the jury understand ( hopefully sympathetically) my cause. White v. Ball is our strongest case. It talks of what counts as “intent to publish”. Dooley made 200 copies of the same flyer to post around and give out to…
Juries are predominately involved with criminal cases that involve indictable offences. Juries usually consist of 12 jurors, these 12 people are handed the authority to make decisions that will ultimately affect the results of the case. In a criminal trial process the judge instructs the jury on the points on the case that they must decide upon and prove true or false. The role of the jury then, is to decide the facts on the case. They decide what evidence proves itself beyond reasonable doubt…
defendant is represented by a criminal lawyer. Only two percent of criminal cases are disposed of by jury trials (Bohm & Haley, 2012). Before a trial formally begins, attorneys can file pretrial motions. A motion is a request to the judge for a particular action. Motions to obtain prosecutorial evidence or suppress evidence are most common. In the case of a jury trial, the members of the jury are sworn in. The court clerk will read the criminal complaint. At this point, the…
Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, On January 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee looked forward to another eventful exciting day at Woodlawn High School. Sadly this was not any ordinary day when the afternoon came around and Hae went missing. This was undoubtedly a horrible tragedy but the evidence will strongly support that Adnan Syed is not guilty. The state's main evidence will strongly depend on the claims of Jay Wilds a criminal and he is known to change his story multiple times. According to Jay's…
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. A Voir Dire is the questioning of individuals to determine who is to serve on the jury (Lippmann, 2014,…
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? Why is this important now? What impact will it have on the future? - The proceeding issue deals with whether or not to abolish the peremptory challenges within the judicial system. Peremptory challenges allow attorneys to dismiss potential jurors without the inclusion of a reason as to why. The author includes one side that favors the…
A jury is an important part of the American Courts System. Having a jury of peers is important because having multiple people decide consecutively on a case makes the ruling more legitimate and free of any biases. As a juror, it is important that you understand that you will only be deciding on the facts of the case, not the law. The judge will decide on what the law is and you simply must apply it to the facts of the case. You will not know the facts of the case until you get there. If you…
My news article this week pertains to a grand jury indictment, and where a case will proceed from there. The article I chose has to do with Mark Anthony Carpenter, who was indicted by a grand jury on murder and burglary charges. He is accused of shooting and killing his landlords, Gary and Bonnie Cavish. The next step in this case will be an arraignment in District Court. There, the charges against Mr. Carpenter will be read, and the judge will apprise him of his rights. He will then enter a…