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Asking Jurors To Do The Impossible
Asking Jurors To Do The Impossible
Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy
No abstract provided.
Is It Possible To Predict Juror Behavior?, John W. Clark Iii
Is It Possible To Predict Juror Behavior?, John W. Clark Iii
Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy
Each year in the United States there are over 150,000 jury trials. Theoretically, the jury serves as the conscience of the community. The jury's decision manifests what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. With this substantial responsibility, jurors are assigned the responsibility of evaluating arguments made by attorneys, determine the truthfulness of witness's testimony, decipher physical evidence, and comprehend jury instructions given by the judge. Therefore, the American adversarial system allows attorneys a great deal of latitude in determining a juror's fitness to serve.
Reverse Engineering Of Jury Instructions, Bethany K. Dumas
Reverse Engineering Of Jury Instructions, Bethany K. Dumas
Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy
Reverse engineering of jury instructions requires (1) creating a decision structure or decision tree for a case, based on a theory of the case, (2) identifying crucial points in the decision structure or decision tree, and (3) incorporating crucial points into the jury instructions. This paper suggests that reverse engineering of jury instructions can be used to instruct jurors about legal concepts and technical terms before they hear jury instructions or closing arguments. The goal is to improve the clarity of instructions to achieve litigation goals.
Jury Reform: The Impossible Dream?, Nancy S. Marder
Jury Reform: The Impossible Dream?, Nancy S. Marder
Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy
In his essay, Asking Jurors To Do the Impossible,' Peter Tiersma identifies several ways in which jurors have difficult, if not impossible, roles to play and suggests several steps that courts could take to aid jurors in performing these roles. He offers a number of recommendations, such as having judges instruct jurors in plain and specific language, allowing jurors to ask questions about the instructions, and explaining to jurors the reasons for certain rules. His recommendations are sensible, and courts would do well to follow his advice. With the exception of his call for the creation of expert juries in …
Asking Jurors To Do The Impossible, Peter Tiersma
Asking Jurors To Do The Impossible, Peter Tiersma
Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy
Being a juror has never been easy. Several hundred years ago, English jurors were confined "without meat, drink, fire, or candles" until they had finished their deliberations.' If they failed to reach a verdict before the judges left town (English judges would travel from the royal courts at Westminster to various cities to try cases), the jurors were supposed to be placed in a wagon and "carted" to the judges' next destination.