The Supreme Court allows states to use juries smaller than twelve and nonunanimous verdicts.
Evidence
During the twentieth century, several states sought to reduce the costs of trials and promote efficiency by reducing the size of juries and experimenting with nonunanimous verdicts. When disappointed litigants challenged these experiments as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court for the most part backed the states. In Williams v. Florida (1970), the Court ruled that a jury of 12 was not required in state criminal or civil trials, although in 1978 it established a minimum size of 6 members in state criminal trials. In two cases decided in 1972, Johnson v. Louisiana and Apodaca v. Oregon, the Court also upheld the use of nonunanimous (9–3) verdicts in criminal cases, although seven years later, it held that a six-member jury could convict a defendant only by unanimous vote. These rulings have encouraged previously reluctant states to modify their jury systems. Currently, 22 states use juries of less than 12 to try civil cases, 24 states use them to try misdemeanors, and 43 states continue to employ twelvemember juries in felony cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 873
Categorization
- DEFINE: Precisely maps the constitutional rules: Williams v. Florida, 1978 six-member minimum, Johnson and Apodaca 9-3, unanimous requirement for six-member juries.
- XREF: connects to: The Supreme Court allows non-12-member and non-unanimous state juries — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1423; Smaller and nonunanimous juries produce less thorough deliberations and more convictions. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 875; Jury size and unanimity rules vary widely across the states. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1425 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- The Supreme Court allows non-12-member and non-unanimous state juries
#corroborates(1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1423 - Criminal jury verdicts require unanimity in nearly all states
#qualifies(0.82) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 838 - Jury size and unanimity rules vary widely across the states.
#qualifies(0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1425 - Smaller and nonunanimous juries produce less thorough deliberations and more convictions.
#expands(0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 875