•What is a jury and what are the responsibilities of jurors•What role does plea bargaining play in the justice system•What are roles in the justice system•What are terms that need to be understood to navigate the justice system•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWcWgy9vd_o

THE JURY SYSTEM AND THE TERMINOLOGY OF

JUSTICE

JURY SYSTEM AND JURY DUTY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZgFp_-dph4

Not all crimes are eligible for trial by jury, in Canada those crimes with sentences of five years or more qualify

Lesser sentences have no option for jury

Accused gets option of judge or jury

YCJA after age 14 have option for jury for certain offences

THE NUMBER OF JUDGES IN ALBERTA

Alberta

Court

Total Number of Judges in Office

Super-numeraries

Grand Total

Total Number of Women Judges

Number of Current Vacancies

Court of Appeal 13 3 16 7 0

Queen's Bench 61 13 74 29 2

WHAT IS A JURY A person 14 years of age or older

may choose to be tried by a judge or jury for certain offences

Juries always have 12 people and all twelve must agree on a verdict

Anyone who is 18 years of age or older and who is a Canadian citizen is eligible for jury duty

Serving on a jury is considered a duty of Canadian citizens

JURY DUTY CONSIDERATIONS

1. All people over 18 may be called2. Not everyone is selected3. Higher profile case, harder it is harder

to find jurors4. Interview process under oath5. Alternate jurors often utilized6. Employers must give time off to for jury

duty, but don’t have to pay you7. Some groups have an easier time being

excused, ex: self employed8. Criteria for being excused undue

hardship

A CARTOON ABOUT JURY HARDSHIP

As you can see from the cartoon, it is the judge who has the ultimate say in determining hardship

A CARTOON ABOUT THE JURY SYSTEM

Do you think the cartoonist is a fan of the jury system?

What evidence would you point to show your opinion?

Why would some people attempt to avoid jury duty?

ROLES IN CRIMINAL CASE Prosecution- supplying

of evidence that indicate guilt of the accused

Defense- supply evidence that supports innocence of the accused

In the Canadian System the people are represented by crown prosecutors

THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME Motive- why the

accused might have committed the crime

Opportunity- could the accused have committed the crime

That is why alibis are important they attack the opportunity element of the crime

In Latin, “alibi” literally means “somewhere else.” In a court of law, it means that someone was in a location distant enough from the scene of a crime that he or she could not have committed the crime, and the individual is therefore innocent.

WHY MANY CASES DO NOT GO TO TRIAL Plea Bargain- agreeing you are

guilty for a reduced sentence, saves time and money for jurors In theory, a plea bargain may be

negotiated at any time after arrest. Also, if the trial results in a hung

jury the prosecution and defense may (and often do) negotiate a plea rather than go through yet another trial.

More than 90% of convictions come from negotiated pleas

TYPES OF PLEA BARGAINING• There are three types of plea

bargaining, two of which are most commonly used. • Charge bargaining is used

when a defendant pleads guilty to a less serious crime than one originally imposed.• Count bargaining is used

when the defendant pleads guilty to a fewer number of the charges. • Sentence bargaining is used

when the defendant pleads guilty knowing what sentence will be given.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdbXszvxM9s

THE PROS AND CONS OF PLEA BARGAINING: OUR THOUGHTS

PROS OF PLEA BARGAINING CONS OF PLEA BARGAINING

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH JURY TRIALS Sequester- jury is put in isolation for

the duration of a trial, designed to keep jury focused on trial, dramatically increases costs http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpzxsZVGprk

Jury pool- all potential jurors for a trial

Juror- someone selected for a specific trial from a jury pool

Deliberations- period of time when jury discusses and considers the evidence presented at a trial

TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH JURY TRIALS

Hung jury- when a jury is unable to come to a unanimous vote

Mistrial- can result from a hung jury or incorrectly ruled evidence or misconduct juror, results in a new trial

Sentencing- when someone found guilty of a crime finds out the specifics of their penalty

Appeal- when one side or the other feels an error in the law was made during a prior trial

JURY OF YOUR PEERS CONCEPT A jury should be representative

of society Among the demographic

considerations Income Religion Gender Age Education levels

REMOVAL OF POTENTIAL JURORS FOR CAUSE In the US, this examination and selection

process includes a dialogue between the potential jurors and lawyers, in what is called a voir dire (French for "to speak the truth").

In comparison to the US process, the Canadian voir dire is curtailed significantly, with little dialogue between the lawyers and jury pool. The voir dire is a truth-seeking process where the lawyers try to cleanse the jury pool from any unfair prejudice or bias that may jeopardize the fairness of the proceedings.

CHALLENGING A JUROR This process of removal is

called "challenging" the juror. There are two types of challenges: 1) challenges for cause; and 2) peremptory challenges. The first type of challenge is where it is believed that the juror cannot sit as an impartial decision maker.

The second category - principled on the requirements of a fair trial - is reserved for the lawyers to strike a potential juror for almost whatever reason.

SOME LOOKS INTO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/criminal_stages/stages-plea-bargains/plea-bargain-pros-and-cons.html

http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Plea-Negotiations-Criminal-Lawyer/Federal/the-pros-and-cons-of-plea-bargaining.html