3/12 Assignment

Jurors are very important to our legal system. They are responsible for deciding if someone is guilty or not. They’re not supposed to watch the news or read about the case and have to be completely biased with their decision. They can take notes or drawings of anything that happens in the court room to remind themselves of evidence or a timeline of events to better help themselves come to a conclusion. The jury can also pass notes or messages to the judge to ask him or her to clarify something in the case. Jurors must base their decision on only facts that were given in the case. They must also be impartial and independent. The jury does not do the sentencing; they just decide whether or not a person is guilty or innocent. The jury must sit through and listen to both sides of the argument. Once both sides present their closing arguments, the jury must go in the jury room to deliberate. They can take their notes but cannot have any communication outside of the room. They come to a conclusion in the room and come out to read their verdict. The jurors cannot be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol when on duty. They also must be at the trial and cannot miss it unless they have a reasonable excuse. There is usually 12 jurors and they sit on the side of the courtroom on a bench. There are 2 main different types of Jurors. There are petit Jurors and Grand Jurors. In Petit, The jurors find if the defendant is guilty or innocent. There are 12 Jurors for a Criminal case and 8 for a Civil Case. A grand jury decides whether or not the person should be indicted for a crime. They may not decide whether or not the person is guilty or innocent. Most grand jurors have to spend more time on the case than a petit juror would. The jury is an important part of any court case and people should take their duty seriously.

            I personally would not like to be a juror. I wouldn’t want the pressure of having to decide if someone is Guilty or Innocent. Either way, people will be upset at the decision you make. You do get to make the decision with 11 other people who are in the same situation. But it is a duty and I would do it if I were called upon.