Project at a Glance
Jury Duty
Jury Duty
District Court Project
Groups Involved:All District CourtsAll Political Action CommitteesAll Precinct Committees All Candidates Awaiting Appointment (not Primary Election winners)
Contents:
Project Overview...... 2
Project Details...... 3
Closing Statement & Sentence Form...... 6
Jury Questionnaire...... 8
Voir Dire Form...... 10
Mock Trial Script...... 11
Discussion Guide...... 15
Checklist...... 16
Project Overview
Summary
It is the responsibility of citizens in a democracy to participate in the jury process. In this trial, the District Court Judges will play the roles of the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the trial judge. Political Action Committee members, Precinct Committeemen that are not running for office and are not serving on the Debate Committee, and Candidates who did not make it through the primary and are awaiting appointments, will step outside of their political roles and act as jurors in this trial. The jurors will need to report to the same floor in the opposite building for jury duty. The trial will take place in the lobby on the county floor. By taking part in this mock trial, all participants will have a greater understanding of how the trial process works.
Requirements
District Court Judges
Prepare for Mock Trial
Decide who will be the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the judge.
Review the mock trial script. You will need 4 copies (one for the witness stand).
Prepare closing statements in advance.
Setup the court room.
Mock Trial
Review questionnaires and ask clarifying questions to select a fair and impartial jury.
Complete the Voir Dire form.
Determine the sentence of the accused if they are found guilty.
Following the trial, lead the participants in a discussion about the jury process.
Jurors
Jury Selection Process
Report to the same floor in the opposite building for jury duty.
Fill out the jury questionnaire form.
Keep your questionnaire until asked for it.
Mock Trial
Potential jurors that are stricken from the jury will be asked to role play witnesses.
Jurors will listen to the testimony presented in the trial.
Jurors will deliberate and return a verdict in the trial.
Participate in discussion following the trial.
Q & A
Please read the attached information, which contains the answers to frequently asked questions regarding this project. Consult the Boys State Handbook for additional information. Ask a counselor if you need assistance with the attached information.
Deadlines
All written material and documentation must be placed in the appropriate section of the district court notebook. It is your responsibility to consult your schedule and ask your counselor when this project is due. Late projects will not count toward points for your county.
Project Details
Background
The concept of a modern jury trial stems back at least to Magna Carta, which gave Englishnobles and freemen the right to be tried by a panel of their peers, rather than by summary judgment of the king or other official who often had the utter power to impose his own arbitrary judgment. On the other hand, some criminal defendants today may prefer a bench trial if they believe that a jury would be overly influenced by emotional testimony. The concept can also be traced to Normandy before 1066, when a jury of nobles was established to decide land disputes. In this manner, the Duke, being the largest land owner, could not act as a judge in his own case. Many ancient cultures had similar concepts, notably ancient Judea whose panel of judges called the Sanhedrin served a similar purpose. The Athenians by 500 BCE had also invented the jury court, with votes by secret ballot. These courts were eventually granted the power to annul unconstitutional laws, thus introducing judicial review.
In most criminal justice systems and some civil cases which need a jury, panels are initially allotted at random from the adult population of the district served by the court concerned. A person who is serving on a jury is known as a juror, and the head juror is called the foreman. The foreman is often chosen before the trial begins. The role of the foreman is to ask questions on behalf of the jury, facilitate jury discussions, and read the verdict of the jury.
The number of jurors must be a specified size, usually twelve, though there are fifteen in Scottish juries and in some legal systems smaller cases may require only six. Since there is always the possibility of jurors not completing the trial for health or other reasons, often some alternate jurors are nominated, who will also follow the trial (but do not take part in deciding the verdict), as a precaution in case a new juror is needed part way through the trial (most often used when the trial will be lengthy or high-profile).
Serving on a jury is normally compulsory if a citizen is chosen (exceptions and exclusions vary between jurisdictions and are discussed below). Since a jury is intended to be an impartial panel capable of reaching a verdict, there are often procedures and requirements, for instance, fluent understanding of the language, or the ability to test jurors or otherwise exclude jurors who might be perceived as less than neutral or more partial to hear one side or the other.
The jurors hear the cases presented by both the defense and prosecution, and in some jurisdictions a summing-up from the judge. They then retire as a group to consider a verdict. The majority required for a verdict varies. In some countries their decision making process is private and may not be disclosed, in others it may be discussed but only after the trial has ended.
In common lawcountries such as England and the United States, the role of the jury is often described as the finder of fact, while the Judge is seen as having the sole responsibility of interpreting the appropriate law and instructing the jury accordingly. The jury will render, or try to render, a verdict on the defendant's guilt. Additionally, it may be charged with determining the truth or falsehood of additional allegations, such as great bodily injury in an assault case.
However, occasionally, a jury may find the defendant "not guilty" even though the facts show he violated the law if the jury thinks that the law is invalid or unjust. This is commonly referred to as jury nullification. When there is no jury ("bench trial"), the Judge makes factual rulings in addition to legal ones. In most continental European jurisdictions, the Judges have more power in a trial and the role and powers of a jury are often restricted. Actual jury law and trial procedures differ between countries.
A common method for drafting jurors is to draw them at random from electoral rolls. The most common exclusions are for people whose job in some way precludes them (for instance, teachers, doctors, firefighters, politicians, people who themselves work in the criminal justice system, including the Police), are caring for young children, have an interest in the case, are under the age of 18 years, or who have health problems or serious criminal records. People can also be exempted on religious or ideological grounds, such as Jehovah's Witnesses whose religious beliefs preclude them from swearing oaths and serving on juries. In some jurisdictions in the United States, prior legal education or being a lawyer may also be a reason to be exempted, under the theory that a legal professional may be overly influential to other jurors. However, in recent years, many jurisdictions have eliminated these exemptions.
In the United States, potential jurors form the jury in waiting or jury pool (sometimes referred as the venire). Jurors are picked by a selection process. If the jury in waiting is exhausted without the jury being completed, the clerk of the court is required to ask the jury assembly area to send more jurors.
Selected jurors are generally subjected to a system of examination whereby both the prosecution (or plaintiff, in a civil case) and defense can object to a juror. In common law countries, this is known as voir dire. The method and scope of the possible rejections varies between countries:
In England these objections would have to be very well based, such as the defendant knowing a potential juror, to be allowed. Some jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States, give both the defense and prosecution a specific number of unconditional peremptory challenges. No justifications have to be brought to exclude a specific juror. Generally, defense attorneys exclude jurors who have professions or backgrounds similar to that of the victim and who could thus feel an emotional link to them, while prosecuting attorneys exclude jurors who might show affinity to the defendant. However, in the United States, if the prosecution excludes a minority -group member and the defense challenges, under Batson rules the prosecution must provide a race-neutral reason for the exclusion (later extended by court rulings to gender-neutral reasons as well).
Some systems allow argument over whether a juror's particular background or beliefs make them biased and therefore unsuitable for service on the jury. In the United States, and probably other nations, it is known that some citizens deliberately exploit this to get out of jury duty (for example, by mentioning knowledge of legal concepts). This is parodied in a number of American TV shows:
- In The Simpsons, when Bart asks how Homer got out of jury duty, Homer answers, "the trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races."
- In Family Guy, Peter Griffin gets out of jury duty by making the comment, "awful lot of honkeys in here."
- In Curb Your Enthusiasm, a juror interviewer asks Larry if he had a reason to be partial to the case at hand. Larry responded with "I don't think I could be impartial seeing as how the defendant's a Negro."
In a civil case, the judge will typically ask prospective jurors whether there is any reason they might not be impartial.
Requirements
In order to successfully complete this project, the district court judges will need to complete the proper forms and include them in the District Court notebook. Depending on his role, each person will have specific requirements to complete in order to receive points for your county.
The first task of the District Court Judges is to prepare for the mock trial. Decide who will play the role of the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the presiding judge. Once you have decided upon your roles, read through the mock trial script. Make sure you have 4 copies (one for the witness stand). The attorneys will need to analyze the testimony that will be presented by each of the witnesses and craft theirclosing statements in advance using the corresponding form. The presiding judge should determine the sentence of the accused, if found guilty by the jury, in advance using the corresponding form. Obviously, this is not the way it is done in the real world. You’ll also notice in the script there is no opportunity to question or cross-exam the witnesses. All of these modifications are done in the interests of time. Your last task is to setup the court room. You may use the furniture in the county lobby to setup a realistic court room that includes a place for the presiding judge to sit, a place for witnesses to speak from, chairs for the jurors (about 12), and a place for the attorneys to sit. The remaining chairs will form the gallery for other people to sit.
The next task of the District Court judges is to complete in the jury selection process. Attorneys should review the jury questionnaire form prior to the selection process so that they have an idea of which questions they will focus on and potential reasons to strike jurors. When potential jurors arrive, present them with a copy of the jury questionnaire form. Each potential juror is to fill the form out completely. As they complete the form, have them take a chair in the jury section of the courtroom. When the chairs have been filled, the attorneys should begin the voir dire process of reviewing their questionnaires, asking clarifying questions, and making motions to strike jurors based on their responses. Each side will take turns challenging potential jurors; each has a maximum of five challenges. The presiding judge will complete the voir dire form during the process so that there is an accurate record of the reasons for striking potential jurors. The goal of the voir dire process is to create as fair and impartial a jury as possible. When the jury is in place, gather everyone’s questionnaire and include these in the district court notebook with the project.
The mock trail is the next step in the project. Any potential jurors that did not make it into the jury will be asked to role play the parts of the witnesses. There are five witnesses for the prosecution and six witnesses for the defense. The presiding judge will have assigned these people to a part using the Voir Dire Form. The attorneys will meet briefly with their witnesses apart from the jury in order for them to have an opportunity to quickly read through their part before the trial begins. It is the job of the attorneys to coach their witnesses. The success of each side’s case depends upon the testimony of the witnesses. They need to look and sound as believable as possible. Following this brief meeting, the witnesses should find a seat in the gallery and the attorneys should take positions. When everyone is in place, the trial should proceed. Attorneys and judges may modify their lines in the trial script, but the testimony of the witnesses must be read word for word. At the conclusion of the trial, following the reading of the verdict, it will be the duty of the presiding judge to sentence the accused if found guilty. Read the sentencing form and include this with the project in the district court notebook. Following the trial, use the discussion guide to participate in a discussion about the jury process. Do not review the questions in the discussion guide prior to the verdict.
Closing Statement & Sentence
Check one box:
Prosecution
Defense
Presiding Judge
Attorney Instructions
After reading through the mock trial script and analyzing the testimony present by each of the witnesses, the attorneys for each side are to prepare their closing statements in advance. A closing statement is the last opportunity for the attorneys to address the jury and reiterate the important arguments in the case. A closing statement occurs after the presentation of evidence. A closing argument may not contain any new information and may only use evidence introduced during the trial. In addition, counsel may not vouch for the credibility of witnesses, indicate their personal opinions of the case, comment on the absence of evidence that they themselves have caused to be excluded, or attempt to exhort the jury to irrational, emotional behavior. One of the most important restrictions on prosecutors, however, is against burden-shifting or implying that the defense must put on evidence or somehow prove the innocence of the defendant.
Presiding Judge Instructions
After reading through the mock trial script and determining the offense that the defendant is accused of having committed, the judge must determine the sentence for the defendant, if found guilty, in advance. Sentencing is the principal act connected to a judge’s role. The sentence generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime. The maximum penalty for murder is usually life imprisonment, and in jurisdictions with capital punishment, the death penalty may be imposed. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with “malice aforethought.” The element of malice aforethought can be satisfied by an intentional killing, which is considered express malice. Malice can also be implied; deaths that occur by extreme recklessness or during certain serious crimes are considered to be express malice murders. Unlawful killings without malice are considered manslaughter. Rarely, depending on circumstances, murder charges are mitigated and reduced to manslaughter charges.
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SignatureDate
Jury Questionnaire
Instructions
The information that you give in response to this questionnaire will be used only by the Court and the attorneys to select a qualified and impartial jury. Please print your answer to each question below as completely and as accurately as you reasonably can. Some questions should be answered using your fictitious identity at BoysState; others should be answered using your real-life identity and background. If the question does not apply to you, write “N/A” for not applicable. You are expected to sign your questionnaire, and your answers will be given the same effect as a statement given to the Court.