Jury Verdicts

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Business Finance

Description

Introduction

In our criminal justice system, defendants have the right to a trial by jury. This right is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, specifically, the 6th Amendment. While the Constitution does set forth requirements as to the size of the jury, it does not require that the jury reach a unanimous verdict. A non-unanimous verdict is a verdict by a jury that is not the result of a unanimous vote. In Apodaca v. Oregon, the Supreme Court held that a 10-to-2 vote for conviction is constitutional. In Johnson v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court held that a 9-to-3 vote for conviction was constitutional. Given the defendant's right to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the lack of requirement for a unanimous verdict may beg the question as to whether it is appropriate to allow majority verdicts rather than unanimous verdicts.

Instructions

For this discussion, consider the fact that the Supreme Court has discarded the argument that a less-than-unanimous verdict violates the reasonable doubt standard, stating that the term reasonable doubt refers to the individual juror and not the entire jury.

In your main post:

  • Explore whether all criminal trials should require unanimous verdicts, using a related case as the basis for your position.
  • Articulate two practical issues that might arise under unanimous verdict requirements.
  • Describe the implications of non-unanimous jury verdicts as a criminal justice professional.

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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: JURY VERDICTS

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Jury Verdicts
Student’s name
Institution
Date

JURY VERDICTS

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Over the years, different cases have been brought before the Supreme Court to weight on
the issue of unanimous juries. Peter (2000) note that while some cases require a jury to make a
unanimous decision for a defendant to be proven guilty, others do not. Instead, the number of
jurors required to concur in a verdict differs from one state to another. In a 1972 Supreme Court
decision on the number of jurors required to concur, the court, in the case of Johnson v.
Louisiana, upheld a statute providing that only nine members of a jury of twelve are required to
concur in a verdict in trials for noncapital crimes. However, the court clarified that while the
Sixth Amendment right of trial by a jury requires a unanimous jury verdict in federal criminal
trials, this is not ...


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