RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL Flashcards

1
Q

when is Δ entitled to jury trial?

A

6+ month sentence (Duncan v. LA)

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2
Q

right to waive jury trial; state’s refusal

A

state allowed to emplower prosecutor to refuse Δ’s right to waive jury trial

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3
Q

jury size: constitutuional requirements

A

no right to 12-person jury (Williams v. FL) but below 6 unconstitutional (Ballew)

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4
Q

6-person jury minimum requirement rationales

A

risk of error; conviction rates; probability of wrongfully acquitting guilty Δ & wrongfully convicting innocent Δ, etc. = higher with smaller juries

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5
Q

unanimous verdict required?

A

yes, 6th Amendment requires unanimous jury verdict to convict Δ (Ramos)–does not apply retroactively

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6
Q

when may juror be excluded for cause? (2 circumstances)

A

1) statutorily unqualified to serve (e.g., not citizen, doesn’t speak English, pending criminal charges, etc.) or 2) bias

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7
Q

2 types of juror bias

A

1) actual bias (demonstrated during voir doir) & 2) presumed bias (legally presumed to exist)

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8
Q

peremptory challenges: definition & limitations

A

when prosecutor or Δ unsuccessful in convincing judge to remove juror for cause, may exercise one of their peremptory challenges to remove juror without stating reasons; limitations = # of challenges trial limited by statute or rule

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9
Q

Batson v. Kentucky rule

A

state can’t use peremptory challenge to exclude juror based solely on race; has since been extend to include defense peremptory challenges; peremptory challenges based solely on gender; civil trials, & Δ not same race as juror)

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10
Q

Batson challenge: overview

A

if trial court decides facts establish prima facie case of purposeful discrimination & prosecutor can’t provide race-neutral explanation for challenge, conviction can be reversed

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11
Q

Batson challenge analysis: 3 steps

A

1) opponent of peremptory challenge establishes prima facie case of racial discrimination; 2) burden shifts to other party to provide neutral explanation; 3) if neutral explanation provided, court decides whether opponent of peremptory challenge has proven purposeful facial discrimination

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12
Q

Batson challenge: some notes/caveats

A

opponent of peremptory challenge satifies step 1 of process by producing evidence sufficient to permit trial judge to draw inference that discrimination occurred; step 2 of the process doesn’t demand a persuasive or even plausible explanation & unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the explanation, the reason will be deemed neutral

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13
Q

Batson challenge techniques to show explanation isn’t neutral

A

juror of different race asked different questions, juror of different race has same qualities of excluded juror that prosecutor gave as reasoning

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14
Q

Batson v. Kentucky rule

A

state can’t use peremptory challenge to exclude juror based solely on race; has since been extend to include defense peremptory challenges; peremptory challenges based solely on gender; civil trials, & Δ not same race as juror)

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15
Q

Batson challenge: overview

A

if trial court decides facts establish prima facie case of purposeful discrimination & prosecutor can’t provide race-neutral explanation for challenge, conviction can be reversed

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16
Q

Batson challenge analysis: 3 steps

A

1) opponent of peremptory challenge establishes prima facie case of racial discrimination; 2) burden shifts to other party to provide neutral explanation; 3) if neutral explanation provided, court decides whether opponent of peremptory challenge has proven purposeful facial discrimination

17
Q

Batson challenge: some notes/caveats

A

opponent of peremptory challenge satifies step 1 of process by producing evidence sufficient to permit trial judge to draw inference that discrimination occurred; step 2 of the process doesn’t demand a persuasive or even plausible explanation & unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the explanation, the reason will be deemed neutral

18
Q

Batson challenge techniques to show explanation isn’t neutral

A

juror of different race asked different questions, juror of different race has same qualities of excluded juror that prosecutor gave as reasoning

19
Q

Jury nullification: definition & rule

A

definition = a violation of juror’s oath to apply law as instructed by court, i.e. to “render a true verdict according to the law & evidence”

rule = if there is any basis juror’s view comes from sufficiency of evidence, court must deny request to discharge juror

20
Q

Jury deliberations

A

Jury has “power” & not “right” to convict (allows nullifiction); generally no one (including judge) has right to know how jury or any juror deliberated/reached decision (US v. Thomas)