Jury Selection, Trials and Constitutional Rights

The jury selection process is a significant portion of the trial process. Jury selection ensures that courts maintain proper Due Process and comply with constitutional guidelines. Furthermore, it gives lawyers the ability to evaluate the people in the jury and determine how they would feel about the case. The trial process branches out into six steps: jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments, charging of the jury and deliberation of jury. Throughout the process of jury selection, potential jury is based on a process names an voir dire; otherwise known as committing to telling the truth. During voir dire, potential jurors are included in …show more content…

In the trial jury process, constitutional rights are being followed; and our system of checks and balances remain intact.

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution ensures that the defendant has to the right to a jury of their peers. The standard for a jury is usually 12 but the judge can alter that anywhere from 6-12 jurors; there is also two alternatives in the case there is a breech. Juries that only consist of six jurors, the final decision must be based on a unanimous vote from the jurors. Petty offenses, defined as offenses that will results in incarceration for less than six months, are not required a jury per constitutional law. The initial selection of jurors must be random, followed by a preliminary screening supervised by a judge. Furthermore, voir dire serves a valuable foundation for the constitution ensuring an impartial jury. Jurors can be removed from the jury of lawyers feel that the juror will be detrimental to the case. Although a juror cannot be removed from simple instinct of an attorney. However, judges make the ultimate decision based on any influence other than education, race, religious belief, or gender. Freedom from the press is another feature of the jury system through the trial. Freedom from the press is a right granted through the First Amendment; a right which becomes increasingly valuable in high profile cases. This right is granted so the jurors are not influenced by pressures of the media