Jury Duty

Another great responsibility of citizens!

Bellwork:

Open the Bill of Rights in the Constitution App on your iPad

Work together to figure this out:

What are the two amendments that guarantee citizens a trial by a jury?

Think, then tell your partner…

Why is jury duty required rather than optional?

Review Game!

Review Game!

A _________________ can tell what an accused person is like because they know them personally.

A- Evidence

B- Witness

C- Character Witness

Review Game!

The _____________ is being sued or accused of a crime.

A- Defendant

B- Plaintiff

Review Game!

In a _____________, someone is suing someone else because they didn’t pay when they were supposed to or because someone was hurt by their actions.

A- Criminal Case

B- Civil Case

Review Game!

The job of the _____________ is to decide if they think the accused person is guilty or innocent.

A- Jury

B- Attorney

Review Game!

The _____________ is suing someone or prosecuting someone that they think has committed a crime.

A- Defendant

B- Plaintiff

Review Game!

A _________________ can tell exactly what they saw because they were there when a crime took place.

A- Evidence

B- Witness

C- Character Witness

Review Game!

A person accused of a crime must be proven to have committed it _______________ before he or she is found guilty.

A- Innocent until proven guilty

B- Beyond reasonable doubt

Review Game!

The job of the _____________ is to work for the goals of their client, whether they are the plaintiff or the defendant.

A- Jury

B- Attorney

Review Game!

In a _____________, the state brings charges against someone accused of committing a crime.

A- Criminal Case

B- Civil Case

Review Game!

_________________ is something physical taken from the scene of a crime that helps prove who committed the crime.

A- Evidence

B- Witness

C- Character Witness

Review Game!

An important idea in our court system is that the people accused of a crime are ___________________.

A- Innocent until proven guilty

B- Beyond reasonable doubt

How are people selected for jury duty?

Utah: Randomly selected from driver’s license and voter registration lists

Those randomly selected people are sent questionnaires that they fill out and send back; these are reviewed to make sure each person fits the requirements for jury duty

Once you qualify, you are eligible for a certain amount of time (1 month in SLC) to be called for jury duty. They will give you 1 week’s notice to be “on call” and then you can check in each night to see if you are needed the next day

How are people selected for jury duty?

Once assigned to a trial, a group of people will move to a courtroom

The judge and attorneys for both sides will give an overview of the case and ask each potential juror questions.

The attorneys can dismiss the potential jurors at any point This can be because of a juror’s gender, job, ethnicity,

religion, etc. The attorneys want get a get a jury that will make a decision

they like Ideally, they are trying to make a jury of their client’s peers

If chosen, you will head to the trial and hear arguments!

What if I’m selected for jury duty?

Your boss can’t require that you NOT serve and can’t fire you

You get paid $18.50 for the first day and $49 for each day after that

You might have to be sequestered (isolated from the outside world) for certain trials, but this is rare

There will be 8-12 people working together on your jury

What is the job of a jury in a trial?

Decide if the accused person is guilty beyond all reasonable doubt

Listen to all evidence and directions from the judge

Here’s how the trial goes: Opening statements Each side presents their cases, with witnesses Each side can cross-examine the other sides’ witnesses The judge explains the law to the jury Closing arguments Jury deliberates (goes away and talks about their opinions/ideas) Jury announces its verdict (criminal verdicts have to be unanimous)

Tips for Jurors:

Avoid personal bias: try not to let feelings you may have regarding the background or personalities of the attorneys or the defendant influence your decision

Follow the law: Listen carefully as the judge explains the exact law that you have to decide whether or not the defendant broke. Even if you disagree with the law or think it’s too harsh (or too lenient), you have to make your decision based on the law

Vote “not guilty” if the evidence presented has not convinced you beyond all reasonable doubt that the person on trial is guilty

Don’t make any personal judgments/decisions until all evidence and arguments have been made

Don’t watch the news regarding the case and don’t discuss the case with anyone until it’s over

Your job:

We are going to have a mock jury selection

You will receive character cards with descriptions of who you should pretend to be

You may pick one costume piece to wear to represent your character

Mock Trial: The Case of the Cat Burglar

Ms. Jaime is accused of stealing 10 cats from the Tropical Treats Pet Store

Evidence: The cats were stolen at 12 pm. Ms. Jaime has a lunch break from

11:30-12:30 pm Ms. Jaime’s coworkers reported seeing cat hair on her clothes

and that she was acting “suspicious” Ms. Jaime’s car was broken down the week that the cats were

stolen The cats have not yet been found The locks on the cats’ cages were opened with a red pen, which

is the kind used by those who work in schools Ms. Jaime swears that she did not do it A recently-suspended student was a witness that said he saw her

at the pet store more than 5 times in the days leading up to the robbery, looking at the cats and the locks

Ms. Jessica says that Ms. Jaime would never steal but that she has several pictures of cartoon cats around her office

What did you decide?