Alaska Salutes Its Hardy Jurors + Why Do Juries Often Acquit Police Officers in Excessive Force Cases? The Role of Jury Selection
Mar 15
Jur-E Bulletin: March 15, 2019
Alaska Salutes Its Hardy Jurors
Alaska’s new jury appreciation poster was created by well-known Alaskan artist Duke Russell in consultation with the Alaska Court System. The poster depicts the varied and unique ways jurors arrive for jury service in Alaska. In smaller communities and in rural areas of the state, small planes, boats, and even snow machines (aka snowmobiles) can be the mode of transportation. Chief Justice Joel Bolger recalled that when he was presiding over a trial in the small community of Glennallen, Alaska, one of the jurors from Nabesna arrived at the court house for service even though the 42-mile Nabesna Road was impassable for cars. When then Judge Bolger inquired into how he arrived, the juror explained that he woke up at 3 a.m. to get to court by snow machine.
Why Do Juries Often Acquit Police Officers in Excessive Force Cases? The Role of Jury Selection
Over the last five years, we have observed a high number of news reports involving police-citizen encounters. Often criminal prosecutions of the involved officers have resulted in jury acquittals. The Buffalo News presents a series of juror interviews in an effort to make sense of the acquittals. The article highlights the importance of a thorough voir dire.
Jurors in Long Island Corruption Case Explain Their Deliberations
It is uncommon to have a juror’s step-by-step accounting of deliberations in a criminal trial. Jury Foreman Joseph, a maintenance supervisor in Queens, New York gives us some insight into his jury’s credibility determinations in the trial of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and his wife, Linda.
Judge's Re-wording of Reasonable Doubt Instruction Found To Be Non-prejudicial
In the face of numerous appellate court admonitions and case reversals, trial judges generally avoid adjusting their home jurisdiction’s wording of a pattern instruction for “reasonable doubt.” Nevertheless, a Colorado jurist added new terms to the definition—and escaped appellate reversal.
Restoration of Voting & Jury Service Rights to Florida Ex-felons May Be Delayed
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