The Importance of an Unanimous Jury Trial by Jury

What is an unanimous jury? All members of the jury must agree on the verdict If all members do not agree after an amount of time (as specified by the law of that state and the judge), the jury is said to be hung

What happens after a jury is “hung”? The judge will call an acquittal if there is not enough evidence to support another trial OR the judge will call for a re-trial with a new jury There is no limit to the number of times a person can be tried (although there is limited examples of a person being tried more then twice)

Why is an unanimous jury important? In a criminal trial, the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt for the accused to be found guilty Unanimous verdicts require each jury member to be convinced of the guilt of the accused

Why is an unanimous jury important? Many jurors bring into the courtroom prejudices or attitudes about people, issues or the court system itself which can affect their judgement A unanimous jury requires all jurors to consider the facts and deliberate on the evidence to ensure enough thought is given to their decision

Why is an unanimous jury important? Ensures that jurors who make a quick decision because they want to leave quickly are forced to sit and think about the real reason they voted guilty

To Summarise... There is less risk of convicting an innocent person The requirement of unanimity leads to better deliberation

For your Assignment consider these as Paragraph Topics: Jurors need time to order their thoughts Jurors may let prejudice/values/attitudes/beliefs affect their decisions Jurors let their personal past affect their decisions Jurors may be irresponsible and uncaring about justice

Evidence from Twelve Angry Men Consider the following characters . What prejudices/attitudes/values/beliefs did they bring into the courtroom that clouded their judgement of the facts?

Quotes from the Characters Set this table up in your workbook: Juror Attitudes/Values/Beliefs/Prejudices Quote Page #

JUROR 3 “...I’m telling you sometimes I think we’d be better off if we took these tough kids and slapped ‘em down before they make trouble...” p.3 Demonstrates his sadistic streak ( wanting to inflict pain on others) He doesn’t like tough kids and thinks they need to be punished regardless of their circumstances

JUROR 7 “Yeah, let’s vote. Who knows, maybe we can all go home.” p.6 Has no regard for the law, just wants to get the case over and done with so he can go to his ball game Sarcastic Would rather crack jokes– has a carefree attitude to the seriousness of the decision

JUROR 10 “Now you’re not going to tell us that we’re supposed to believe that kid knowing what he is. Listen, I’ve lived among them all my life. You can’t believe a word they say.” p.8 Racist Bigot Doesn’t trust people from other cultures as he doesn’t understand them

More Evidence... Turn to page 5 of your Blue Books (Book 1) Complete the table to discover more evidence about the attitudes, values, beliefs and prejudices of the characters that effected their judgment of the case