jury (original) (raw)
A is a group of people to facts, according to
specific
. This can be a legal
jury
, a group of people who swear to
determine
the facts of a case. A
jury
can also
determine
winners in competitions, such as art.
Many countries use juries as part of their . In most countries that use juries, they are triers of fact, meaning juries
determine
the facts present in the case. , on the other hand, are triers of , meaning they
determine
the legal issues in the case.
Legal Juries in the U.S.
In the United , a
jury
begins with a call for . To be for
jury
duty
, one must be a legal of the U.S., be at least 18 years old, have no record of crime charges, be able to speak English, and live in the , or area in which the
jury
is called, for at least a year. Most
citizens
are called for
jury
duty
at least once in their lives.
Jury
duty
is not optional.
Jury
selection
most jurors. Part of the reason is that most legal are settled without trials.
Jurors
selected
for trials are questioned by and approved or rejected.
Potential
jurors who have a in a case are not allowed to be on that cases
jury
. A
conflict of interest
is when a person has knowledge of the case, such as knowing one of the people involved, that may unfairly their fact-finding abilities. In
states
that have the , such as Texas and South Dakota, jurors in death-penalty cases must be death-qualified. A is not to the
death penalty
.
There are two major types of legal juries in the U.S.: a and a . A
grand
jury
is made up of between 12 and 23 people who decide if there is enough
evidence
to with a full trial. Grand juries do not decide guilt or innocence, just if there should be a trial at all. A
grand
jury
is used in about half of the
states
in the U.S.
A
trial
jury
, also known as a , is the most familiar type of
jury
to most Americans. The U.S. uses juries for most types of trials, from to bank . Some other countries use juries less regularly. Most countries do not use juries at all.
The number of jurors used in
jury
trials varies. In the U.S., juries are made up of 12 jurors. In Brazil, its seven. In Norway, its 10.
Juries can decide the facts in criminal and . are those where the (the
state
, , or ) is prosecuting, or carrying out the legal action. in
criminal cases
are accused of committing crimes not allowed by the
government
, such as
murder
or
robbery
.
Civil cases
are those where one individual or organization is prosecuting another. Examples of
civil cases
a
jury
might hear are and contract
disputes
.
Civil cases
usually involve money, while
criminal cases
can involve the possibility of .
After hearing
evidence
from the prosecution and the defense, juries decide the facts. They are sometimes given
specific
rules, called , from the
judge
in the trial. Jurors take notes during the trial, listen to
jury
instructions
, then discuss the case with each other. These discussions are called .
Jury
deliberations
are led by the leader of the
jury
, called a .
Juries return their , or decision, to the
judge
. In some
jurisdictions
, the
verdict
must be , meaning all jurors must agree. In other
jurisdictions
, the
verdict
must simply reflect the majority. A
jury
that is unable to reach a
verdict
is called a . At this point, the
judge
declares a mistrial. The case may or may not be retried.
If a
jury
believes a
law
is unjust or unfair, it can reject that
law
. This practice is called . This happens rarely, and usually involves the
jury
allowing the accused person to be excused of the crime despite
evidence
of guilt. Juries that practice
jury
nullification
believe rejecting the unfair
law
is more important than punishing the person who broke the unfair
law
.
Judges
do not support
jury
nullification
. Jurors can sometimes be from juries for considering the
law
itself, instead of the facts of the
specific
case.
In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, a similar situation exists. Its called and is a little more than it is in the U.S.
Legal Juries
There are three major types of
legal systems
that use juries: , , and . There is wide variation within each type of
legal system
.
The U.S. uses a
common
law
system, meaning legal decisions are made through a series of
courts
. The U.S. uses juries for both criminal and civil trials. Canada also uses a
common
law
system, and uses juries for the most serious types of criminal trials, such as
murder
. India uses a
common
law
system, but out
lawed
the use of juries in all trials in 1960.
Most countries use
civil
law
, in which legal decisions are made based on a collected series of rules, not
judges
or
court
cases. Russia has a
civil
law
system that rarely uses juries for either criminal or civil trials. Indonesia has a
civil
law
system that never uses juries.
Few countries use
religious
law
as a
national
legal system
. It is most common in the , where countries look to the holy book of , the , for guidance. This
law
, called and , allows for juries. Iran uses juries for some
criminal cases
.
Other Types of Juries
Less formal juries exist all over the world. These juries are often used for judging and services. Local groups can
select
juries to
judge
the quality of local services, such as auto repair or hairdressing.
Juried art shows can be very . The , held every two years in Venice, Italy, was in 1895. It is probably the most famous juried art show in the world. The awards are decided by an
jury
of directors, writers, and actors who gather in Cannes, France, to
judge
the competition.
Blue-ribbon juries are a unique type of non-
trial
jury
. Blue-ribbon juries are often
selected
by the
government
, often in cooperation with . Blue-ribbon juries study a
specific
problem, such as or crime, and make recommendations. Jurors are usually experts in the area being studied, such as university or leaders.
Fast Fact
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, tries people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The International Criminal Court does not use juries.
Fast Fact
The Tribe Has Spoken
The jury on the television show Survivor is made up of eliminated contestants on the reality series. This may be the most literal example of a jury of your peers.
Survivor started in Sweden and now has versions in 13 countries around the world, including South Africa, the Philippines, and, of course, the United States.