CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
► Know the relevance of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.
► Understand the effects of jury size on jury decision-making.
► Know how voir dire is used to determine juror bias.
KEY TERMS
Amadou Bailo Diallo Authoritarian Personality
Ballew v. Georgia Batson v. Kentucky
Burden of proof Challenge for Cause
Locus of Control Mock Trial
Peremptory Challenge Presumed prejudice
LECTURE NOTES
Juries and the Courtroom
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed.
~ Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution
Size of the Jury
The Supreme Court’s decision in Thompson v. Utah (1898), established that in federal criminal
cases, a jury must have 12 members.
In 1978 the Supreme Court drew the line on the constitutionally permissible size of a felony
jury by holding in Ballew v. Georgia that five jurors are too few and is a violation of
the Sixth Amendment. In making its decision, the Court relied on a number of psychological
studies on group dynamics and jury functioning, indicating that as the size of a jury decreases
from twelve to six or less jurors, the likelihood of convicting an innocent person rises.
Voting Requirement of Jury and Burden of Proof
As previously noted, in criminal cases the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and this
Requirement for a Non-Biased Jury
The Sixth Amendment guarantees an impartial jury.
Impartiality requires (1) that a jury be a representative cross section of the community is an
essential; and (2) that jurors chosen are unbiased, i.e., willing to decide the case on the basis of
Jury Selection
A county or city usually compiles a master jury list (also called a jury wheel) of eligible jurors
from among the citizenry. From this list, a jury pool (or “venire”) is selected and summoned to
appear for jury service.
Challenges for Cause
Challenges for cause can be used to remove a perspective juror who (1) is ineligible to serve
due to statutory requirements (e.g., he or she is not a resident of the local jurisdiction, not a
U.S. citizen, below the mandated age requirement, or does not speak English); (2) has a
Peremptory Challenges
In addition to unlimited challenges for cause, both sides in a criminal trial have a limited
number of peremptory challenges which, with important exceptions, do not have to be based
on any identifiable reason.
Pretrial Publicity
In Irvin v. Dowd (1961), the Supreme Court set down a basic rule that when pretrial publicity is
substantial, a trial court suspect possible impartiality of jurors.
Overcoming the effects of Pretrial Publicity
Extensive juror questionnaires
Challenges based on Race
The leading case is Batson v. Kentucky (1986).
In Batson, a prosecutor used his peremptory challenges to strike all four black persons on the
Challenges based on Gender
The leading case is J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. (1994).
The effects of Jurors’ Attributes on Verdicts
Fulero and Penrod (1990) have expressed that ethnicity, race, gender, wealth, social status,
Physical and Demographic Attributes sometimes considered Important:
Age, Gender, Occupation, Ethnicity, Race, Physical Attractiveness
It is an old legal axiom to never accept a juror whose occupation begins with the letter “P.” This
Personality Attributes
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is typically measured using a scale (originally called the “F” or “Fascism”
scale), and was originally developed by Adorno in the 1950s.
Individuals who score high on measures of authoritarianism typically conform to conventional
norms and exhibit a desire to punish individuals who deviate from those norms. Authoritarianism
has also been linked to prejudicial attitudes and hostility towards groups such as Jews, communists,
and other minorities.
Locus of Control
Locus of control (Rotter, 1966) refers to an individual’s belief in the source of outcomes in life.
Internal locus of control reflects the belief that an individual is responsible for his or her
outcomes. External locus of control refers to the tendency to attribute outcomes to factors
beyond one’s control, such as luck, fate, or the action of others.
Just World Beliefs
Just world beliefs refer to the attitude that “people get what they deserve in life.”
Attitudes toward the Death Penalty
The Supreme Court decision in Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968) established that a juror can be
Scientific Jury Selection
SUMMARY
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that in all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial with an impartial jury. In all criminal
cases a unanimous jury decision is required. In civil trials in federal courts, a jury’s decision also
must be unanimous. The Supreme Court, Burch v. Louisiana (1979) held that verdicts made by a
In addition to unlimited challenges for cause, both sides in a criminal trial have a limited
number of peremptory challenges which, with very important exceptions, do not have to be
based on any identifiable reason. The only exception to this rule is that such challenges may not
be based solely on race (Batson v. Kentucky) or on gender (J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel.).
There has been unsupported as well as some empirical support for demographic factors being
relevant in jury decision-making. These include such things as juror age occupation, ethnicity,
and physical attractiveness. In addition, there are personality variables which also seem to be
related to how jurors vote. These include authoritarianism, locus of control, “just world beliefs”
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What are the general requirements of the Sixth Amendment?
4. On what basis may a challenge for cause be made?
5. What was the holding of the Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky?
6. How many peremptory challenges are generally permitted in a trial?