 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last |
In the US, the term can refer to a grand jury which issues an indictment or a petit jury which is present at a trial. When used alone the term usually refers to the latter.
In the United States, England and Scotland, defendants in most serious criminal cases have a rightFor the direction right see left and right or starboard. For the political trend or ideology, see Right wing. The following article discusses the notion of rights in matters of philosophy and Law. At its most fundamental, a right is a claim, on other pers to trial by jury. The Sixth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionLaw for the United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the guarantees the right to jury trial in both state and federal criminal proceedings, although in practice most criminal actions in the US are resolved by plea bargainA plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case where a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to end the case against the defendant. The defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest (and often allocute) to the offense charged, or to a lesser offense, or.
Juries are also used in many civil cases in the United States, and the Seventh Amendment to the United States ConstitutionLaw for the United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the explicitly protects the right to a jury trial in civil cases tried in the United States District Courts.
In English lawEnglish law the law of England and Wales (but not Scotland and Northern Ireland) is considered by some to be one of Britain's great gifts to the world. Also known generally as the common law (as opposed to civil law), it was exported to Commonwealth count, juries are only used in civil cases for criminal libel , or in some cases where the state is the defendant, such as some cases of wrongful imprisonment .
In most criminal justice systems which require juries, panels are initially selected at random from the adult population of the district served by the courtThis article is about courts of law . For alternative meanings see: Court (disambiguation). A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and concerned. Individuals once selected are required by law to serve, often with exemptions for people whose job in some way precludes them (for instance, teachers, doctors, or people who themselves work in the criminal justice system ), are caring for young children, or who have health problems. Most jurisdictions also limit jury service to citizens.
Potential jurors form the jury pool. It is narrowed by a selection process. Jurors are allocated to particular trials by a system of examination known as voir dire whereby both the prosecution (or plaintiff, in a civil case) and defense can object to a juror. Some jurisdictions give both the defense and prosecution a specific number of unconditional peremptory challenge s, while most allow argument over whether a juror's particular background or beliefs make them biased and therefore unsuitable for service on the jury. Typically a jury panel has twelve members, sometimes with a number of "alternates" who follow the trial but are not included in the deliberations unless a jury member is unable to continue for some reason.
In most civil law systems, a jury is not used, although lay assessors perform many of the functions of juries in some systems. In the US, juries are used in civil trials. In Japan, the post-war constitution guarantees the right to trial by jury, although this right is almost never used because it is believed that anyone who is desperate enough to want to have fellow citizens decide their fate is almost certainly guilty of the crime that they are charged with.
The jurors then hear the cases presented by both the defense and prosecution, and in some jurisdictions a summing-up from the judge. They then retire as a group to consider a verdict in secret, which they must reach unanimously in US criminal cases. On the rare occasions when no unanimous decision can be reached by the jury, (sometimes referred to as a hung jury,) a mistrial is declared, and the case must be retried with a newly constituted jury.
Some jurisdictions allow majority verdicts in criminal cases if a juror becomes unfit to continue, or if a judge permits it when a jury is deadlocked. At least 10 jurors must agree. Other than that, there are no restrictions on how a jury may proceed to reach such a verdict, and no set time limit. Occasionally juries deliberate for several days.
In the United States, some juries are also empowered to consider some aspects of a defendant's sentence, if the defendant has been convicted. This is notably now a requirement in all death penalty cases. This is not the practice in most other legal systems based on the English tradition, in which judges retain sole responsibility for deciding sentences according to law.
The exception is the award of damages in English law libel cases, although a judge is now obliged to make a recommendation to the jury as to the appropriate amount.
The term "jury" is also used for groups of judges who decide on awards in various artistic areas, notably writing and film.
The period between 1830-1850 was when the modern adversarial jury trial took shape. See: D. J. A. Cairns, Advocacy and the Making of the Adversarial Criminal Trial, 1800-1865 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|