Jury Trial Essay

Submitted By jayniceh
Words: 1563
Pages: 7
Open Document
Jury Trial Analysis
Jaynice Harden
March 16, 2015
CJA/364 Criminal Procedure
Shane Krauser

Jury Trial Analysis
In today’s society, there are many people who know what a jury trial is and what is expected in the process of a jury trial. They may also know why the process is important and very necessary as it protects the citizens of the United States. The part that some people may not know about is the process that is taken during the pre-trial phase. Any and every individual that has been accused of wrong doing have the right to a fair trial. In addition, everyone has the right to an attorney to help then fight and understand the legal side of the defense. A jury trial can consists of 12 adjudicators which as selected at random that will take all information into consideration and decide upon the facts of the civil or criminal case. Criminal cases are more serious than civil cases. “In this case, serious offense refers to offense carrying a punishment of over six months (Gaines & Miller,2011).
A jury trial consists of six steps that must be followed in order to ensure a fair trial. The prosecution as well as the defense is very needing of these steps in the criminal justice system. If it should happen to be a violent crime then a fair and impartial jury would have to be the ones to give the prosecution the verdict. However, if it turns out that the accused is not guilty then the accused have the right to due process and a fair trial. A jury trial is very important because they make sure that the trial is fair based on the information that is provided and deciding on the punishment for the accused offender. The first most important step in a jury trial is to make sure that the group of selected individuals is fair and is unbiased. This process is known as “voir dire” which is when the jury has to answer a series of questions to find out if they are interested in the case, is biased, or if they are prejudice which can turn out to negatively impact the verdict. The criminal court system will be sure the give the defendant their rights during the selection of the jury to prevent an unfair trial. This will allow the defendant to be given a chance to dismiss any person that is a part of the jury stand that they may think to be unbiased. According to Lundguist (2008) “the judge and the prosecution can also dismiss unbiased jurors from the jury.” This is ensuring that the evidence is considered that is presented in the case to make their final decisions.
Jury Selection
Following this further, “the first step to consider when selecting a fair jury is getting a fair jury pool, which is a collection of potential jurors assembled to carry out jury duty” (Carlson, 2005). The jury has a right to anyone in the community to serve as a juror and not to exclude certain groups such as Hispanics, women and black Americans among others. When the jury selection is done it is done at random and not to be based on sex, religion, or race. After the jury selection is complete, those individuals that were selected at random are summons to court to be questioned to determine their impartiality. The only other people that may question the jury selection would be the defense attorney as well as the prosecutor to determine their biases. Attorneys also have the right to ask the juror to be excused from that criminal or civil case. This can either be a challenge for cause or peremptory. When it is a challenge for cause this is usually this is steamed from a stated reason. In most cases it is usually actual or a bias of that person. Some examples of this may include but are not limited to a connection between the defendant and/or law enforcement or if they were previously involved in a similar case. On the other hand, the other challenge being peremptory would be them asking the juror to excuse themselves from the case without any justifiable reasoning. This is usually made by the attorney based on their gut experience of feeling. However,
Show More

Related Documents: Jury Trial Essay

Dbq Jury Trial

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: The right of trial by jury was abridged by the Sugar Act of 1764, which was passed by the British parliament for a number of reasons. However, its main objective was to end the smuggling of sugar and molasses from non-British Caribbean sources, such as the French and Dutch West Indies. This was important to the British Empire because it needed funding to cover the costs of the French and Indian War (1754-63), and the smuggling trade…

Words 430 - Pages 2

Jury Trial and Jury Selection Essay

character of the speaker. The source's credibility, the speaker's/author's authority • Juror 8: Had the needed character/frame of mind to be credible. He walked in to the deliberation unprejudiced and open-minded about the evidence given during the trial Pathos: Appeal based on emotion. Emotional or motivational appeals to make your audience feel the way you want them to. • Juror 8: Asked for an anonymous vote. Couldn’t persuade the other jurors so asked to just take a vote Contrast: Make…

Words 995 - Pages 4

South Texas Jury Trial

qualifies as both complex and extended. The factual and legal issues arising from this case during the jury trial phases, the multiple sentencing phases, and petition to the Supreme Court, begins to explain why excess payment is necessary to provide fair compensation. The summary below provides greater detail. BACKGROUND This case involved a multi-day jury trial down in South Texas. A jury found Maria Guadalupe Rubio-Mendoza (Rubio) guilty of conspiracy and with intent with possession to distribute…

Words 923 - Pages 4

Grand Jury Trial Essay

the grand-jury for review or information will be filed in the trial court. The grand jury is usually 23 people who sit permanently for at least one month and they decide if indictments should be issued. If the grand jury does decide that there is strong evidence to hold the suspect for trial, it returns a bill of indictment, which is a true bill and this charges the suspect with a particular crime. An indictment is a formal written accusation of a crime which is affirmed by a grand jury and it is…

Words 391 - Pages 2

HMS Pinafore & Trial By Jury Essay

Student Name Jeff McGrath Theatre 1 21 March 2014 H.M.S. Pinafore & Trial By Jury The production I saw was H.M.S. Pinafore & Trial By Jury produced by the Saltshaker Theater. I viewed the play at the Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater in Monterey, California. Act I of the first play takes place primarily on a British naval ship and deals with the daughter of the captain of the ship who rejects the attentions of the First Lord of the Admiralty because she loves a common sailor stationed on the her father’s…

Words 600 - Pages 3

Jury Trial Analysis Essay example

Jury Trial Analysis Fenisa Robinson CJA-364 October 1, 2012 John Huskey Jury Trial Analysis In the United States of America, the criminal justice system is based on the adversarial system or common law system. An adversarial trial allows the accused or defendant to be given a fair chance to prove his or her innocence. The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the defendant is to be given a fair chance to oppose the prosecution, have witnesses to help with his or…

Words 940 - Pages 4

Case Study: The Jury Trial Of Mac The Knife

The reading I chose was The Jury Trial of Mac the Knife, an excerpt from D. Woychuk’s, 1996, Attorney for the damned: A lawyer’s life with the criminally insane. This case study outlined the story of Mr. MacKnight’s jury trial to review the level of psychiatric retention necessary after he had been found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity for killing one person and stabbing another, in July of 1976. Mr. MacKnight had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and each side of counsel argued whether…

Words 910 - Pages 4

The Role Of Rape Myths And Jury Selection In The Outcome Of A Trial

The Role of Rape Myths and Jury Selection in the Outcome of a trial. This reading highlights many myths and stereotypes exemplified in jury cases involving rape. Judy Shepherd wrote the reading itself. In the following essay you will learn about a specific rape case, and how those myths and stereotypes affected the outcome. It will be strange to learn how some people can be easily convinced when presented a skewed view. First off before you learn about the exact trial and the outcome, one must first…

Words 1866 - Pages 8

Criminal Trial Process Essay

Criminal Trial Denise Parnell Strayer University Professor: Catherine Terry May 26, 2013 Assignment: 5 Before a criminal trial can be held, federal and state laws require a series of procedures and events (Carp, 2011). The process of a criminal trial starts when an individual is arrested, or charges are filed for a warrant. After a defendant is formally charged with a crime, the case proceeds to the criminal trial phase (unless the defendant pleads guilty). When or if a criminal defendant…

Words 694 - Pages 3

Stages of Criminal and Civil Proceedings Essay

starting the case and pretrial, trial, and post-trial activities. A civil case starts out with pleadings. A lawyer files paperwork with the clerk of courts for his/ her client. This paperwork states that the client was injured in some way, either by the person or the unlawful act that was committed. After the pleadings the case then goes to the pretrial conferences. A judge and the 2 lawyers will sit and discuss what is relevant and what is not for the trial. At this conference both…

Words 1588 - Pages 7