Instruction and Activity:
Lecture
Many people cringe in horror at the thought of being called for jury
duty. But why? Jury duty is an essential element of our criminal and
civil justice system. The fate of an accused person or entity is placed
in the hands of six to twelve citizens instead of the military, politicians,
or "experts." The system relies on individuals to become a "jury of
peers" in order to fairly and accurately weigh the facts and law to
decide a case. A judge runs the courtroom, determines what law is appropriate
to govern the case, and tells the jury what law to apply. However, it
is a group of average individuals, representing a cross-section of society,
with no connection to the case, who are responsible for impartially
deciding the guilt or liability of a party.
Q: Why would you want a jury to decide a case as opposed to a judge?
A politician? A military officer? What are the advantages of having
a jury?
A:
Q: Who can become a juror?
A: Every citizen is eligible for jury duty in the United States. Illinois
places the duty of randomly selecting and calling jurors in the hands
of the county governments. Counties usually compile their lists of potential
jurors annually from voter registration, driver's license, State ID,
and State Disabled lists. The county eliminates duplicates, estimates
how many jurors it will need for the year, and then randomly picks the
required number of names from the list. Jurors then receive notice of
their impending jury duty approximately a month in advance of the date.
Q: Why is a "jury of peers" important?
A: A jury of peers ensures that people who are similarly situated to
the defendant decide the defendant's fate - individuals who might be
able to empathize or understand the defendant.
Activity
The classroom is going to become a mini-mock trial room. The teacher
is the judge. Pick one student to be the defendant in an armed robbery
case. Pick one person to be the prosecutor who will question the defendant.
Split the rest of the class into two juries. Jury #1 will pretend to
be senior citizens. Jury #2 will act as themselves.
1. Have each jury group identify their main social and personal concerns
in the world. For example, the students' concerns might be going to
school, grades, sports, friends, etc. The seniors' concerns might be
health insurance and health care, retirement, politics, family, etc.
2. Have each group identify their general attitudes about young people.
Do they like young people? Do they like to hang around young people?
Do they like/trust young people of their own race? Do they like/trust
young people of another race? Do they like/trust young people of their
sex? Do they like/trust young people of the opposite sex? Are they afraid
of young people? Are they more fearful if they observe a group of young
people as opposed to an individual? Do they trust young people to be
truthful? Do they think that young people have enough to do to occupy
their time? While jury #2 must answer as themselves, jury #1 must answer
as though they were their grandparents or grandparents' friends.
3. The general scenario for the case: Two young individuals entered
a doughnut store late at night. Person "A" pulled a gun on the storeowner,
and demanded all of the cash in the cash register. When the owner took
too long to open the register, Person "A" hit the owner with the butt
of the gun, and stole the cash register in its entirety. Person "B"
stood by the whole time as a lookout, and held the door open for Person
"A" as he dragged the cash register out of the door. Two security cameras
captured grainy pictures of the robbery and assault. Defendant's best
friend has been convicted of being the individual with the gun, Person
"A."
The defendant in this case is accused of being the lookout, Person
"B." Although the lookout might not have pulled the gun or hit the storeowner,
his/her alleged participation in those felonies as lookout and by holding
the door assures that s/he will be as liable for any damage that occurred
as a result of the commission of those crimes.
4. The prosecutor has five minutes to question the defendant. Sample
questions should include:
- Defendant's background - where Defendant attends school, after-school
activities; work history;
- Defendant's whereabouts on the night in question, at the time in
question;
- the extent of Defendant's friendship with the individual with the
gun;
- . whether Defendant had ever been to that doughnut shop before;
- whether Defendant owns clothing similar to that seen in the security
video;
- whether Defendant has ever owned a gun; and
- Defendant's spending habits after the robbery - did they increase?
Where did that money come from?
5. Allow both juries three to five minutes to deliberate about Defendant's
testimony.
6. Poll both juries. Did they believe Defendant? Why or why not? Did
the senior citizens' views of Defendant differ from the students' perspectives?
How?
7. Continue the discussion of the importance of serving on juries to
allow everyone a fair trial in front of a jury of peers who are a true
cross section of society. Individuals avoiding jury service end up limiting
the jury pool because there are fewer potential jurors from which to
choose. These individuals assure that their voices will not be heard
in the administration of justice.
8. Create different jury member profiles involving issues such as economic
status, race, or sex, as well as different case facts to test the theories
of the importance of a jury composed of a true cross-section of society.
9. Ask the students about well-known legal cases that are currently
in the news (Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson).
What would be the best type of jury for these defendants? What type
of jury would the prosecution like to have?
©Copyright 2003 Citizen Advocacy Center. All rights reserved. No part
of this lesson plan may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior, written permission of the Citizen Advocacy Center.
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