Blog 12- Trial Of Jack Merridew (Jury Essay)

Jury Qualifications

It's not just being selected for jury duty, there are some qualifications you need. You must not know any of the people involved in the case. Also you may not have a criminal record. If you know to much about the case and you have formed a bias opinion then you are excused from the jury. Some other things are if the judge or either of the attorneys feel you will have a bias opinion about the case they may excuse you. You need to be honest because if your not and you do know about the case and have already formed an opinion then it becomes an unfair trial.

The Basics to being a Juror

There are many basics the evidence,to being a juror, but what you really need to know is the steps you go through. First you should recieve a letter requesting your services as a juror. If you need to you may give an excuse, but it must be a true excuse. Second you are brought into court for questioning. These questions are from the judge, prosecuting attorney, and defense attorney. You also may be asked for some information about yourself, for the judge and attorneys to get a better idea of your standing in the case. Third you would be either excused from the case or you would become one of the cases jurors. Forth you would be in the court listening to the trial. If you serve in this trial, you won't be called for jury duty again untill 12 months later. In this trial you will need to listen close to witness testimonies, and the attorneys facts. You need to take all this into consideration, for you will be making a desicion based on these facts. Fifth you would go into a private room with all the other jurors and deliberate about the case and your desicions. This step is called jury deliberation. Sixth you will go back to the court room and present your verdict. This will decide if the defense is guilty or innocent.

The Excuses for getting out of Jury Service

Serving on a jury is very important, but sometimes you can't. There are many reasons why you can be excused from jury duty, and these are some of them. Work or family comitments that don't allow you to be a juror, travling or work outside of the country, if you are over 70 years old, if you are under 18 years old, if you work as an attorney, dentist, physician, or registered nurse, if you do not have a car and cannot use public trasportaion, if you are a volunteer firefighter, rescuse squad, or ambulance crew member, if you are obviously a bigot, raciast, or unsuitable in other ways.

Jury Selection

To be selected for the jury you must not have a criminal record. you can be selected from any where in your county. You also need to be un-bias, you may not have an already formed idea or opinion of this case. You may not know anyone involved in the case includeing attorneys, the defendant, the prosecutors, ect. Before or during the trial you may not talk to anyone ivloved with the case or research anything about the case.

Jury Duties During the Trial

During the trial you may not speak, your duties are to pay close attention the the information being presented. You also take notes on the evidence presented to you. Jury duty is a big responsablilty, because you are deciding an outcome of a trial. Also you are showing how much we need the U.S. costitution to maintain our legal system.