Essay On Jury Of Peers

A jury is an important part of the American Courts System. Having a jury of peers is important because having multiple people decide consecutively on a case makes the ruling more legitimate and free of any biases. As a juror, it is important that you understand that you will only be deciding on the facts of the case, not the law. The judge will decide on what the law is and you simply must apply it to the facts of the case. You will not know the facts of the case until you get there. If you have seen synopsis’s of the case on television or in the news, you are not automatically disqualified from being a juror. Only if you have formed a pre-convinced opinion of the case—about who is responsible— and know that you have already solved the case, and are not wiling to change your mind, will you disqualified for initial selection. There will be anywhere between six and twelve jurors all together. The selection process that you will be going through is called Voir Dire. Though you have been called for jury duty, you are not automatically selected to be listening to the trial. Going through the selection process, not all of you will be selected. The lawyers will ask you to fill out a questionnaire over basic information about yourself beforehand. After they read over them all, some of you will be continue on to be questioned in person or in a group either by a judge or a lawyer to make sure you are competent to listen to the trial. Followed up with questions about qualifications to actually serve. Of course, lawyers from both sides are going to want the potential jurors to be sympathetic to their client, so things like your profession, monetary income, and even race can be taken into account depending on what the lawyers want and believe will help their case. Keep in mind that lawyers on both sides reserve the right to dismiss jurors for no reason at all once selected. This is called making “peremptory challenges.” If they feel like your presence will be a threat to the success of their party, they can request you to be dismissed. However, there is a limit to how many jurors that be let go in this manner depending on what side is requesting your release, and a deadline to do so. If you are make it to the trial, then you will get paid for being a juror. However, depending on if you are a student, or are employed then you will not necessarily be excused. Unless your professors or employers are sympathetic to the need the Adversary System has for you to be a juror, legally they are not obligated to excuse you or pay you, unless you are a government worker. Following selection, you will be sworn in to your new, temporary job. It is important that you know that you may not speak about the trail with anyone. Do not worry, the judge will remind you of this rule and many other that you as a jury member must …show more content…
Then there is the defendant, the one who is being accused of the crime or the plaintiff has taken to court to receive compensation for some wrong done to them personally. The trial will be continuos and will not stop once it starts. Otherwise, important details could be forgotten. And besides, it can be in-convent for a trial to be drawn out for you, the other jurors, and of course everyone else involved. It also makes it more exciting in a way. It is called a “clash” and must be kept heightened. This will make the trail go by faster and is designed for the jury to be kept interested and attentive to the trail. The adversary system that Americans court system is based on is one where both parties present their cases and through the arguments the truth is found. There is a legal rule called “equality of forensic arms” that means must side have equal opportunities to present their case. So throughout the entire trail each party will alternate with doing the same actions. You will be listening to a Federal Civil Case, or a Criminal Case. However, it is most likely that it is a criminal case, considering juries in civil cases must be requested and is only in the Federal