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As far as I know the U.S. Constitution nowhere calls for a 12 member jury panel or a 12-0 verdict by such a jury to convict in a criminal case. Is there or has there been any State that has convicted with another number say 11-1 or 10-2 or even a Criminal jury of less than 12. I already know the differences between Criminal and Civil juries so you need'nt inform me of that difference.

2007-03-02 13:22:01 · 4 answers · asked by jstokes1085 2 in Politics & Government Law & Ethics

4 answers

Oregon and Louisiana can convict on a 10-2 jury count. All other states require a unanimous verdict.

2007-03-02 14:08:44 · answer #1 · answered by Shellbell 3 · 0 0

You are correct that the constitution does not specify the size of a jury. 12 is the number nearly every state has picked. There is probably a historical reason for that number, but each state COULD use a different number if they chose. The same applies to unanimous verdicts.

2007-03-02 14:02:10 · answer #2 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0 0

If just one person does not agree with the rest, it can result in more deliberations, a hung jury, or a mistrial. A person is NOT convicted if one or more refuses to agree with the other jurors.

I used to assist in picking juries and have waited for countless verdicts to come in. Sometimes, I was able to tell when one person was pressured into agreeing with the rest. I'd tell the attorney I was working with at the time and the attorney would request to "poll" the jury. This means that the judge asks each individual juror if they agree with the verdict. If one or two break down or struggles, they tend to say they're not completely with the rest of the jury. We got a few mistrials out of it.

2007-03-02 13:32:31 · answer #3 · answered by Lisa S 3 · 0 1

The unanimous vote is there to guard the electorate of the state and u . s . from Governmental abuse of potential. think of if one jury voted accountable and all the others non accountable and you nonetheless circulate to detention center it incredibly is perposterious.

2016-12-14 09:20:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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