INSTRUCTIONS:
The right to a trial by jury is a key right under the Bill of Rights, pursuant to the Sixth Amendment. Along with that right comes procedural safeguards to ensure the juror system is functioning within legal parameters. Rules are established for parameters. There are instances where rules are violated.
Imagine that you are serving on a jury for a murder trial. The evidence presented at trial is largely circumstantial and, in your mind, equivocal. During the closing arguments, the prosecutor states that you must find the defendant guilty, because he confessed to the crime. This confession was not provided as evidence during the case. The defense attorney immediately objects, and the judge sternly instructs you to disregard the prosecutor’s statement.
While you do not know exactly what happened, you suspect that some procedural error excluded the confession. During deliberations, several other jurors commented on the error, including discussing the impact on their position.
Additional Instructions:
- Explain how you would handle what took place in the deliberations.
- Evaluate the implications of a judicial official making improper comments to the jury when such comments are likely to be accorded substantial weight by the jury.
- Discuss a situation from recent events where the jury may have been influenced by judicial comments, even when they were instructed to disregard the comments.
- Analyze the potential ethical and legal issues in the situation in the context of the constitutional right to a trial by jury.
Special Instructions:
Create a 1 page essay in APA format incorporating the following information and instructions above. Use 2 sources for references. Be sure to include in-text citations.
