Lecture 6 Flashcards
Who is eligible for jury duty?
- 19 years or older
- Canadian citizen
- Language proficiency
Who is ineligible for jury duty?
- Certain occupations
- Conflict of interest
- Personal hardship
Jury composition and Diversity
- Diverse juries do a better job
- Juries may be the one part of the justice system that actually has diversity
Requirements of jurors
1) Representativeness
- Jury should reflect a wider community
2) Impartiality
- Case should be judged on the evidence alone
Impartial juror
- Indifferent between the prosecution and the accused
Partial juror
- Has a bias affecting the verdict
Remedies for partial juror
- Juror exclusion
- Change of venue
- Challenge for cause
Interest prejudice
- Occurs when a jury member has vested an interest in the outcome of the case
Problems with challenge for cause
Normative prejudice
Occurs when jurors feel strong community interest in particular outcome
Specific prejudice
Juror has beliefs about a specific case
Generic prejudice
General biases about groups of people or certain types of crimes
What is challenge for cause
Two screen out potential bias in juries
Problems with challenges for cause
- Assumes people are aware of their bias and how it affects them
- Assumes we can see bias in others
- Assumes people will respond honestly
Majority influence
If a jury begins with 2/3 of members agreeing, the majority typically wins
