What is a jury iCivics?
We the Jury is a single-player game from iCivics and Filament Games that puts you in the shoes of a juror and provides a window into the deliberation room of a court case. The player must examine evidence and decide whether to side with the plaintiff or the defendant in the case.
How do jury trials limit the power of the government and protect individual rights?
Juries have unique roles in protecting our rights. No other institution of government places so much power—the power literally to decide issues of life and freedom—directly in the hands of average citizens. Juries by definition require government to prove guilt before taking away life, liberty, or property.
Why do we have to do jury service?
The jury trial is an exciting feature of our criminal justice system. When people are accused of serious offences, they generally have a right to be tried by 12 members of the public. We believe that this is the best way to ensure that verdicts are fair, reasonable and unbiased.
Can your constitutional rights be taken away?
Each state’s constitution also outlines rights for its citizens. If a state constitutional right conflicts with a U.S. Constitutional right, the U.S. right prevails. The state constitutions can add rights, but they can’t take away any U.S. Constitutional rights.
Does everyone have a right to a jury trial?
Under the Sixth Amendment, in all criminal prosecutions, the accused criminal has the right to a trial by an impartial jury of the state and district in which the individual allegedly committed a crime.
Can I refuse to do jury service?
Avoiding it, however, is ill advised: you cannot simply refuse and it is a criminal offence to not answer a jury summons without reasonable cause. You may, however, be able to defer (or possibly be excused) if you’ve served in the last two years or have a good reason.
What does the 14th amendment mean in simple terms?
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction era to abolish slavery and …
What are the 5 individual rights?
The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world.
What does the 7th amendment say in simple terms?
The 7th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that civil cases, or lawsuits based on disagreements between people or businesses, have a right to be decided by a jury in federal court. The amount of the lawsuit must be more than $20, and after a jury settles the case, it shouldn’t go back to trial again.
What are my 14th Amendment rights?
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
What rights are protected by the 14th Amendment?
Why do jurors make their decisions?
Individual jurors’ reasons for their decisions, however, will generally not come to light. Jury deliberations in a criminal trial are the stuff of drama and mystery: Drama because they come at the end of an often contentious trial; mysterious because what goes on behind the closed door to the jury room generally remains a secret.
Can a jury member leave the room during deliberation?
Deliberations cannot begin until all are present, and they cannot continue if someone leaves the room. Jurors are largely left to themselves to come and go during the trial, but once the case is submitted to the jury (following closing arguments and the court’s instructions), the jury is kept together under the supervision of a court officer.
What happens if a jury does not reach a verdict?
Sometimes even the most conscientious jury cannot reach a verdict. When the foreperson reports that the jury is “hopelessly deadlocked,” the judge has a choice: Declare a mistrial (setting the stage for another trial) or admonish the jury to go back and keep trying.
Can a juror bring a cell phone to the deliberation room?
Judges have broad discretion when it comes to allowing the jury to bring or have items in the deliberation room. Normally jurors are not allowed to bring outside reading materials with them, and this prohibition may, in some states, extend to keeping one’s cell phone.