Juror misconduct is an issue that began a long time ago and it is caused mainly by the fact that the jurors that participate in these cases are not familiar with the information provided and this excludes the information off of present digital media as well as in movies and the television. The internet is the greatest challenge of this problem. In the olden days, obtaining information about a case outside the courtoom would have been a considerably long and difficult task with a higher chance of being unconvered, however now, the itch is stronger because materials, such as newspaper articles can be obtained withing the snap of a finger. In addition to that, almost all the jurors are constantly communicating and have visual media contact with
The movie Runaway Jury starts with a shooting in a business office. The movie then continues to people receiving jury summons and people taking pictures of them. It goes on to show Rankin Fitch and the defense committing electronic surveillance during the jury selections. This movie shows how Fitch and the defense attempt to influence the jury to vote for the defense. The movie continuously shows a person by the name of “Marlee” who talks to Fitch and Rohr trying to persuade them to pay her in order for the jury to be “swayed” their way. “Marlee” is Nick Easter’s girlfriend. As the movie progresses, the viewer realizes that Nick was pretended to get avoid jury duty in order to secure a spot in the jury. The movie ends with the jury voting against the gun company and then Nick and “Marlee” blackmailing Fitch with a receipt for $15 million and they demand that he retire immediately. They inform him that the $15 million will benefit the shooting victims in the town of Gardner.
This chapter is mainly devoted to the jury selection process and how it is taken care
Jury Bias With jury bias we examined that the perspective taking, victim impact statements and race of the victim had no main effects with ps > 0.26 and no significant interactions with ps > 0.64. Jury Race The race of the jury was divided into white and non-white participants. An ANOVA was then run with perspective taking, victim impact statements, and race of the victim as the between-participants factors to test against empathy felt for the defendant, for the victim, for the victim’s significant others. White participants. We observed that there was a main effect with the race of the jury and the empathy felt by the jury for the victim.
At trial, your life is in the palms of strangers who decide your fate to walk free or be sentenced and charged with a crime. Juries and judges are the main components of trials and differ at both the state and federal level. A respectable citizen selected for jury duty can determine whether the evidence presented was doubtfully valid enough to convict someone without full knowledge of the criminal justice system or the elements of a trial. In this paper, juries and their powers will be analyzed, relevant cases pertaining to jury nullification will be expanded and evaluated, the media’s part on juries discretion, and finally the instructions judges give or may not include for juries in the court. Introduction Juries are a vital object to the legal system and are prioritized as the most democratic element in our society, aside from voting, in our society today.
Zillman, Bryant (1982) The Impact of Heavy Viewing of Pornography on Jurors Decision. Journal of Communication, v40, pp.165-7.
In the play “Twelve Angry men”, the story line presents a variety of perspectives and opinions between twelve very different men. Some are more likely to be pointed out as prejudice, and others are more focused on reaching fair justice. Clearly, it is quite difficult for different people to vote ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ in unity when coming to a fair decision. In all of the twelve jurors, I have chosen Juror 3 and Juror 8 for contrast and comparison. I believe that Juror number 3 is a very opinionated man, with more differences than similarities comparing with Juror number 8.
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
Johnson, J., Keyzer, P., Holland, G., Pearson, M., Rodrick, S., & Wallace, A 2011, Juries and social media, Victorian Department of Justice, viewed 8 May 2014, < http://www.sclj.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/sclj/documents/pdf/juries%20and%20social%20media%20-%20final.pdf>.
Otto, A. L., Penrod, S. D., & Dexter, H. R. (1994). The Biasing Impact Of Pretrial Publicity On Juror Judgments. Law and Human Behavior, 18(4), 453-469.
A jury is a panel of citizens, selected randomly from the electoral role, whose job it is to determine guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented. The Jury Act 1977 (NSW) stipulates the purpose of juries and some of the legal aspects, such as verdicts and the right of the defence and prosecution to challenge jurors. The jury system is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society as members of the community ultimately decide whether the person is guilty or innocent. The creation of the Jury Amendment Act 2006 (NSW) enabled the criminal trial process to better represent the standards of society as it allowed majority verdicts of 11-1 or 10-2, which also allowed the courts to be more resource efficient. Majority verdicts still ensure that a just outcome is reached as they are only used if there is a hung jury and there has been considerable deliberation. However, the role of the media is often criticized in relation to ensuring that the jurors remain unbiased as highlighted in the media article “Independent Juries” (SMH, 2001), and the wide reporting of R v Gittany 2013 supports the arguments raised in the media article. Hence, the jury system is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society, as it resource efficient and achieves just outcomes, but the influence of the media reduces the effectiveness.
The book Acquittal by Richard Gabriel states, “juries are the best judges in the system. They are not elected, they don't have the high-powered microscope of appellate review or the stern, disapproving-schoolmarm precedent looking over their shoulder, and they have no interest in the outcome of the case.” For this reason, we can come to the conclusion that the use of juries in a trial is the best for all involved in the legal system. While juries, “are the best judges in the system”, lawyers, jury consultants, and jury scientists are the reasons they are viewed this way. It is their job to make sure that not only their client, but everyone has a fair and unbiased trial.Making sure that “the best judges in the system” are fair and unbiased takes a lot of planning, research, and effort. You must research the jurors, understand how they think, what their morals are, and how they would view this case. “It is a constructed reality, cobbled together by shifting memories of witnesses, attorney arguments, legal instructions, personal experiences, and beliefs of jurors.”(Gabriel
Have you ever received the “dreaded” jury summons? If you have then you are more than likely familiar with the process. However, if you have not ever received a jury summons or been selected for jury duty allow me to explain it. A jury summons is the notification that is sent to randomly selected individuals of the community making them aware that they are to appear for jury duty or jury selection. The notification will indicate the date and time in which the individual is to appear. While it is understood that jury duty or jury selection could be a bit “inconvenient” for some individuals it is actually one of the most civic duties you can perform. There are two main types of juries within the federal trial courts: trial juries which are also known as petit juries and grand juries (“Types of juries”, 2017). This paper seeks to provide insight and explain the purpose, functions, and powers of the grand jury.
The term “trial by media” is used when individuals and others involved in court proceedings or cases believe that media coverage and opinion has infringed their rights to a fair trial. This often includes the idea that the information published throughout the media, can influence the juries decision and override a just and fair decision process, therefore not allowing the individual to have the right to pleading innocent until proven guilty. There have been many incidents and cases that have resulted in the media publishing incorrect judgements, or creating their own finality or illegitimate opinion on a case, therefore publishing headlines that incline bias. This tends to infringe the judiciary’s role, that have not yet created a sentence for the individual. This means that the jury could easily walk into the court room, already having the knowledge of invalid media...
One good example of model of juror we can meet in movie “Twelve Angry Men”(1957). This movie is about persistence as a model of behavior for juror if he is not sure in guiltiness of the defendant. In the movie, having nearly unanimous decision of guilty at the beginning of deliberations of the jury on a homicide trial, their decision was changed by a single dissenter of not guilty. The single dissenter of not guilty was the 8th juror, who throughout the play sows a seed of reasonable doubt. At first he is trying to defend the defendant, who is not guilty in his opinion. But after, he is trying to defend himself and to prove that he is right. He is a very persistent person, which helps him to prove everybody that the boy is not guilty. There were jurors, who were asking him just to vote guilty, because 11 jur...
Juror 4 is a very careful and rational person. He is not easily influence by others and has a high self-disciplined attitude. Juror 8 is a very careful person. The way he dig out the evidence one by one show that he is a responsible person and don’t want any error in his decision. He lead the group into the final decision. Juror 3, 7, 10 and 12 have very low conscientiousness. This four jurors are very selfish and not responsible especially juror 7. His impatient lead him to simply vote and he can ignore a person life just because of his own self interest which is to watch a baseball game. Juror 3 and 10 are careless and not detail. They tend to assume the evidences provided are sufficient. They are not responsible to the task assigned. As a juror, they should look carefully into all the details provided instead of just believing the existing evidence. Juror 12 had been sketching and not taking this juror task seriously. He is only concern with his own interest (leave the discussion, his advertising job) and not responsible to things that seems not important to him. Conscientiousness is important in representing the reliable of a decision making by an individual. A person who is conscientious is more responsible towards their task and the percentage of fairness in a trial is much