If you’re about to head to court where there might be a jury, you’re probably curious about what, exactly, a jury is, how each person was selected, and how much power a jury has to determine the outcome of your case.
For all the information you need about juries, read on, and be sure to ask expert criminal defense attorney Dan Chambers if you have any questions.
First, a few definitions:
Jury: a group of people selected from a random sampling of the public and vetted by both the defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge presiding over a court case who are sworn to give a verdict in a legal case on the basis provided to them in court
Verdict: a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case
Defendant: the person who allegedly committed a crime and may be convicted if the jury finds him or her guilty
Just a couple basic factoids:
Juries usually consist of 12 members in felony cases, and are sometimes made up as few as 6 in civil and misdemeanor cases.
Unanimous verdicts (meaning that all jurors agree that the defendant is either guilty or innocent) aren’t always required for misdemeanor cases. In some states, a three-fourths agreement on the jury is enough for conviction.
In California, a jury consists of 12 individuals and the verdict must be unanimous.
How jury selection begins
The process of selecting jury members begins when the court clerk calls 12 people to the jury box, where the judge explains the basics of what the case is about and asks if there’s any reason a juror can’t serve on the jury.
Then the lawyers on either side (prosecution and defense) have an opportunity to question each juror and attempt to determine if he or she has any biases that would make their judgment of the case unfair. It’s call voir dire (from the Latin phrase meaning “to speak the truth”).
Jury member dismissal:
If one of the lawyers determines that a potential juror is prejudiced, or in any way may not be able to impartially consider the facts of the case, he or she can ask the judge to dismiss the juror for cause. This means that there is a specific reason the juror isn’t fit to serve on the jury. An unlimited amount of potential jurors may be considered for dismissal for cause.
Alternatively, in addition to dismissing potential jurors for cause, they may be dismissed as peremptory challenges. This means that the lawyer can excuse a potential juror without indicating a reason why. The limit to the number of peremptory challenges varies based on the type of case that is being tried. Discrimination based on race, sex and other types of protected categories are not permitted.
When both the defense and prosecution agree on each member of the jury, they are sworn in by the court clerk (in other words, they are impaneled) and begin to try the case.
Universal jury instructions:
The judge always indicates that the jury must follow these instructions (also referred to as giving the jury a charge):
- Strive to be as unbiased and impartial as possible throughout the entire trial
- Don’t discuss the case with outsiders or each other (until deliberations)
- They may not ask witnesses questions, with some exceptions when judges allow the jury to submit written questions, which are pre-approved by the trial’s lawyers)
- Don’t watch TV or read newspaper reports about the court case, and no googling or other internet searches should be made—only evidence, all credible witness testimony, and relevant laws presented in the case should be considered to reach a verdict
- In criminal cases, adequate evidence must be presented to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the defendant either committed the alleged crime in order to reach a guilty verdict
Determining punishment:
In the vast majority of cases, the judge alone decides on the punishment, not the jury. Many jury instructions explain that the jury should not consider possible punishments when deciding whether a defendant is guilty or innocent.
If you’re dealing with a misdemeanor or felony charge that might go to trial, it’s essential that you work with a lawyer who will treat you with utmost respect and fight for you every single step of the way. Get the most tenacious criminal defense attorney in all of Southern California on your side by calling Dan Chambers of the Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 or emailing dchambers@clfca.com.
