THE JURY: PRACTICE AND PERSPECTIVES
Winter Semester 2008
Professor Douglas O. Linder
Course Outline & Materials

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
 by an impartial jury...

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Key: Readings found in Course Materials  /  Readings Available Online Through Links  /  Videos Presented in Class or Guest Speaker  Class Exercise
Recommended supplementary text: Nancy Marder, The Jury Process (Foundation Press, 2005).

Session 1 (Jan. 16, 2008):

1.  Origins of the Jury System
    
---Hans & Vidmar, "The Evolution of the American Jury" (from Judging the Jury)
    
---Duncan v Louisiana (US 1968)

2.  Powers and Rights of the Jury
     A. Deciding Facts
         
---Jury Center, "Jury's Power to Determine Facts"
     B. Applying Law
         
---Jury Center, "Jury's Power to Apply the Law"
     C. Jury Nullification

       ---Linder, Jury Nullification
       ---Note from a Jury to a Judge
       ---"Jurors Rise Up Over Principle" (Nat'l Law Journal, 1995)
       ---Jury Center, Jury's Power to Disregard the Law"
       ---Fully Informed Jury Association Website
       ---United States v Dougherty (D. C. Cir. 1972)
     
---American Justice, The Kervorkian Trial
       ---PBS, Frontline, Inside the Jury (video of actual jury deliberations)
       ---Optional: A Famous Trial Case Study of Nullification: The Trial of John Zenger (1735)

Session 2 (Jan. 23, 2008):

3Jury Selection

     A.   Juror Eligibility, Exemptions & the Fair Cross Section Requirement
           
---Your Missouri Courts, "Juror Basics: Eligibility and Excusals"
              ---J. Abramsson, "Jury Selection and the Cross-Sectional Ideal" (from We, The Jury)
              ---Norris v Alabama ("Scottsboro Boys")(US 1935)              
                (Fo
r background see: The Scottsboro Boys Trial)
              ---Duren v Missouri (1979)
              ---Overview

     B.    Jury Selection
            
---CBS, Enter the Jury Room (jury selection in a criminal case)
             (1)  Jury Questionaires
                 
---Jackson County Standard Juror Questionaire
                      ---Pre-Trial Juror Questionaire in Michigan v Kervorkian
                  ---The Rodney King Beating Case: Sample Questionaire (from Blue's Guide to Jury Selection (2005))             
              
(2)  Voir Dire
                  
  ---Example of Judge's Introduction to the Voir Dire Process

Session 3 (Jan. 30, 2008):
                       
            
(3)  Scope of Questions and Due Process
                       --United States v Dellinger (Chicago 7 case)(7th Cir. 1973)
                              ---Ham v South Carolina (US 1973)
                       ---State of Connecticut v Barnes (Conn. 1988)
               (4)  Voir Dire Exercise
                 
---Practical Jury Selection Tips
                      ---James McElhaney, "Make Limited Time for Voir Dire Count" (ABA Journal)
                      ---Sample Voir Dire Questions in a Civil Case

                 
---Class exercise in selecting a jury (materials)

Session 4 (Feb. 13, 2008): 

     C.   Exemptions, Excusals, and Challenges for Cause 
            (1) Conflicts         

            (2)  Pre-Trial Publicity and Prejudgment
            
---"Challenges for Cause," Randolph Jonakait (The American Jury System(2003))
                ---Patton v Yount (US 1984)

     D.   Peremptory Challenges 
            (1)  Number
                  
---Ross v Oklahoma (US 1988)

               Guest speakers on jury selection

Session 5 (Feb. 27, 2008):

            (2)  Batson and Progeny 
                  (a) Race-Based Exclusions
                      
---Batson v Kentucky (US 1986)
                             ---CBS, 48 Hours, Black Defendant and White Jury
                  (b) Sex-Based Exclusions
                             ---J. E. B. v Alabama (US 1994)

                  (c) Other Impermissible Factors?  (Religion?  Sexual Preference?  Age?)
                  (d) Neutral Reasons
                       
---Purkett v Elem (US 1995)

      E.   The Art and Science of Jury Selection        

            (1)  Demographics and the Jury
                       --Clarence Darrow, "How to Select a Jury" (Esquire 1936)

                       ---Jury Selection in the O. J. Simpson Trials
                       ---Jury Selection Exercise: Select a Jury
            (2)  Community Surveys, Jury Consultants, and Mock Juries
                  
---"The Theme Development Study" (Starr-McCormick (2006))
                        ---Stephen Adler, "The Wizard of Odds" (from The Jury (1994))
                        ---Primetime, We, the Jury: Jury Consultants                      
            (3)  Individual Differences and the Limits of Predicting Verdict Preferences
                 
  ---"Some Steps Between Attitudes and Verdicts," Phoebe C. Ellsworth (from Inside the Juror (1993))

Session 6 (March 5, 2008):

4.  Trials from the Juror's Perspective
     A.  Juror Privacy

              ---Brandborg v Lucas (E. D. Tex. 1995)
              --- Dallas Morning News, "Magistrate Clears Juror of Contempt"
              ---Newton Minnow, "Justice for Jurors Too"
              ---CBS, 48 Hours, The Diana Brandborg Case

     B.  Anonymous Juries
          
---"Judicious Use of Anonymous Juries" (American Judicature Society)
              ---"Secret Justice: The Growing Use of Anonymous Juries" (Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press)
     C.  Sequestration
          
---Jury Center, "Sequestration"
              ---ABA Journal, "Sequestration Little Used, Little Liked"
     D.  Making Sense of Instructions
          
---ABA Journal, "Not So Plain English: Jury Instructions Are Confusing"
              ---James McElhaney, "When Jurors Eyes Glaze Over (ABA Journal)

     E.  Juror Stress
             ---Minneapolis Star, "Jurors Felt Like They Were On Trial" (Oct. 9, 1998)
             ---CBS, 48 Hours, Jury Stress in a Capital Case

Session 7 (March 12, 2008):    

5.  Jury Decision-Making
     A.  How Jurors Process Information
          (1)  Heuristics
                
---Michael Saks & Robert Kidd, "Human Information Processing and Adjudication: Trial by Heuristics" 
          (2)  Juror Biases and Preconceptions
               
---Linder, "Juror Empathy and Race" (Tennessee Law Review)(excerpt)
                    ---James McElhaney, "Finding the Right Script" (ABA Journal

          (3)  Processing Through Stories
                
---"The Story Model for Jury Decision Making," by Nancy Pennington and Reid Hastie (from Inside the Juror)
            (4) The "Meter Model" of Juror Decision Making
                
---"Two Conceptions of the Juror," Lola Lopes (from Inside the Juror)

Session 8 (March 19, 2008):

     B.  Deliberations: Getting a Different Perspective
               
---CBS, Enter the Jury Room

                    ---Class exercise: serving as a juror in a mock trial
     C.  Use of Impermissible Evidence
          (1)  Visiting Crime and Accident Scenes
          (2)  Impermissible Contact with Witnesses, Attorneys, or Bailiffs
                
---Parker v Gladden (US 1966)
          (3)  Surfing the Net, Consulting Reference Books, Reading Papers, Watching TV
               
  ---Your Missouri Courts, "Juror Conduct During Trials"
          (4)  Conducting Experiments 
    
D.   Juror Misconduct During Trials
            
---Smith v Phillips (US 1982)
           
---Tanner v United States (US 1987)
               ---ABC, Primetime, The Tanner Trial
               ---ABC Primetime, Juror Looks for Bribe

     E.  Impermissible Decision-Making Techniques
          (1)  Prayer, Astrology, and Tarot Cards
                
---Utah v DeMille (Utah 1988)(prayer)
                     ---Hutchinson v Laughlin (Ohio 1951)(astrology)

          (2)  Flipping Coins
          (3)  "Horse-Trading"
          (4)  Undue Pressure
                
---American Justice: Jury Under Seige (Juror in Capital Case Says Didn't Vote Guilty)

Session 9 (April 2, 2008):

          (5) Refusal to Apply Law
              
---United States v Thomas (2nd Cir. 1997)  

     F.  Jury Dynamics
         
(1) "Alpha" and "Omega" Jurors               
          (2) Evidence-Driven Juries & Decision-Driven Juries
               
---John Guinther, "Jury Deliberations" (from The Jury in America)
         
(3) The Effect of Jury Size and the Unanimity Requirement on Jury Dynamics
               
---Linder, Exploring Constitutional Law, The Sixth Amendment Jury Right: What does it say about jury size and unanimity? 
                    (Read Williams v Florida (1970), Apodaca v Oregon (1972), Ballew v Georgia (1978).)
 

Session 10 (April 9, 2008):

     G.  The Allen Charge and Hung Juries
         
---Allen v United States (1896)
            ---"Blasting the Jury With Dynamite"
            ---Kalven & Zeisel, "The Hung Jury"
            ---Optional reading: "Are Hung Juries a Problem?" (Center for Jury Studies)
            ---CBS, Enter the Jury Room: Hung Juries

     H.  Jury Decision-Making in Capital Cases
           
---Valerie Hans, "The Jury and the Executioner" (from Judging the Jury)
               ---Lockhart v McCree (US 1986)
     I.   Jury Tampering
          
---New York Times, "District Attorney Investigates Charges of Jury Tampering" (4/1/96)
          
---CBS, Sixty Minutes, Jury Tampering in the O. J. Simpson Trial 

6.  Grand Juries
     
---Wall Street Journal, "Grand Jurors Have Unususal Role in the Clinton and Lewinsky Inquiry"
       ---(Optional Reading: CNN, Transcript of Clinton's Grand Jury Appearance)
       ---ABA, "Frequently Asked Questions About the Grand Jury"

7.   Litigating in the Shadows of Juries
      ---
Marc Galanter, "Jury Shadows: Reflections on the Civil Jury and the ‘Litigation Explosion'"
       ---Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service (sample issue)
       ---Class exercise: assessing the value of a case

Session 11 (April 16, 2008):

8.  The Jury in American Society
     A.  Do Juries Make Good Decisions?
          
---Kalven & Zeisel: "The Basic Pattern of Disagreement Between Jury and Judge"
              ---Jason Krause, "Judge v. Jury: Forget What You Know About Who's More Likely to Convict," ABA Journal (6/2007).
     B.  Is the Jury System Too Expensive?
     C.  Juries and the Media
          
---United States v Cleveland (E.D. La. 1997)
     D.  Jury Reform
          (1)  The Active Jury: Jury Note Taking and Questioning of Witnesses
                
---S. Friedland, "A More Active Jury"
         
(2)   Should Peremptory Challenges Be Abolished?

                     ---Jeff Rosen, "Jurymandering: The Case Against Peremptory Challenges" (The New Republic)

          (3)  Should the Civil Jury Be Abolished?
                
---"What's a Blivet?"
                     ---"The Drowsy Dozen" (Esquire)

                
---Margolis & Slavitt, "The Case Against Trial by Jury in Complex Civil Litigation"
                     ---George Priest, "Justifying the Civil Jury"

    











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