Syllabus
AmericanJury topics
ORGANIZE BY DATE
- deal with
- lory
- Chapter 6 in Abelson, Ledeen and Lewisâ âBlown to Bitsâ does a nice job of concisely describing the RIAA misdeeds and system of âAUTOMATED JUSTICEâ.
- runaway jury
- jury selection in riaa
- relation between right to jury trial and right to public trial - courtroom in cyberspace
- lory
Contents
- 1 Historical evolution of the jury
- 2 Jury selection: The Nuts and Bolts
- 3 Psychological phenomenon related to jury decision making
- 4 Jury consultants: what they do and what they can tell us about how jurors think
- 5 Portrayal of juries in the media
- 6 "Jury-type" voting in reality TV shows (Survivor, Biggest Loser, etc.) compared to actual juries
- 7 Empirical and comparative aspects of the jury, i.e. US jury vs. other countries
- 8 Avoiding jury duty
- 9 How do you find a fair jury in highly publicized cases where the risk of jury contamination is high?
- 10 Fear on the jury. Ex. the Wire. What if the jury is afraid to convict?
- 11 Why should jurors make their decisions ONLY on the evidence presented and not on what they already know? How and why self informed juries became bad.
- 12 Juries as portrayed in the media
Historical evolution of the jury
What is the reasoning behind the size of the jury? e.g. why 12?
Jury selection: The Nuts and Bolts
(How jury selection works) - Claimed by 1636
- What are jurors automatically excluded for? Should they be?
Claimed by Runaway Jurists
Jury consultants: what they do and what they can tell us about how jurors think
Claimed by TeamNerfSword
March 11: Special guests: Dave Weinberg and Johanna Carrane of Juryscope.
Portrayal of juries in the media
Claimed by The Rural Juror
"Jury-type" voting in reality TV shows (Survivor, Biggest Loser, etc.) compared to actual juries
Claimed by Destiny's Child
Empirical and comparative aspects of the jury, i.e. US jury vs. other countries
Claimed by Leftovers
Avoiding jury duty
Claimed by Destiny's Child
How do you find a fair jury in highly publicized cases where the risk of jury contamination is high?
Claimed by Bedazzlers
Fear on the jury. Ex. the Wire. What if the jury is afraid to convict?
Claimed by the Leftovers
Why should jurors make their decisions ONLY on the evidence presented and not on what they already know? How and why self informed juries became bad.
Claimed by Leftovers
Unanimous verdict requirements--- good or bad?
Should there be competence requirements for jurors? Would this result in a weeding out of minorities or denial of a "jury of peers"?
Juries and damages awards. Too much? Judicial corrections of excessive damages
Will this result in a more disproportionate number of minorities being put in jail? Is there reason to think it would not?
No level of education requirement on jurors. Are we comfortable with that?
Legal theory of jury nullification - if jury nullification is permitted by law, then is it really lawlessness?
Role of jury in civil cases vs. criminal cases -Possibility of having expert juries.
Why do defendants sometimes choose to waive their right to a jury trial and instead opt for a bench trial?
Juries as portrayed in the media
also claimed by The Rural Juror - we are everywhere
How juries process expert testimony, evidence
Access to jury; structural problems at state-level, e.g. small claims courts â
Strategizing in jury selection - by attorneys, consultants - High-profile cases - special considerations?
Continuing to answer the questions raised by the lynch cases;
The importance of the rule of law and the problems posed by jury nullification: law as an expression of the will of the people; the need for immutable, enforceable guiding principles
How effective are juries in complex litigation settings? (ex. patent cases) to what extent are they influenced/manipulated by expert testimony?
What if the case is complex and the people on the jury do not understand the issues in the case?
The jury as a blackbox to give "moral certainty" to convictions. Good or bad? Alternatives?