If You're An Associate Of The Jury Can You Ask The Courtroom To Find Out More Concerning The Offender Than Hasbeen Offered?

[cassidy25]

I've constantly desired to find out the clear answer for this issue, given that I've noticed lots of Television trial exhibits and numerous live situations on-court Tv, and it seems in my experience that frequently the Judge won't let certain kinds of background regarding the offender to be permitted? Primarily because I believe they want that individual to actually have a fair trial. I'd also like for that individual to really have a fair trial, but it appears to me that if that person has repeatedly accomplished something and has truly been convicted and spent quantity of time in jail or prison for it, or has a prior sample or background... Of this variety of conduct... Then your court have to have the very best to inquire about it. So my question is if I had been to be on the jury for a rape case or kid-molestation case may possibly I/we the jury request the court for the duration of our deliberations for further info or clarification concerning the defendants past criminal history, just in case the judge/court has withheld this details from us? I think I'd prefer to understand this data.

[Josef]

I was lately a juror on a criminal case. It was quite frustrating simply because we all believed that the attorneys for both sides were not providing us sufficient details to assist us determine the case. there have been so a lot of unanswered queries. We asked the judge if we could ask the attorneys for more data, and he told us no - we had to choose the case just on the information that were presented in court, nothing else. we ended up letting the guy off! even even though we were pretty positive he was involved in the crime, they did not give us adequate info to convict him.

[Hurley]

Maybe You can always ask but, as a practical matter, if the defendant did have a past history like that you can be sure that the prosecutor will have already tried to get it in and that the judge will have already decided whether to let it in. Generally, jurors have better luck in getting a judge to let them review a transcript so that they understand the testimony or to give them an explanation of the law that is applicable to their decision.  A juror's decision is supposed to be based on the testimony and evidence. They are not supposed to be asking their own questions of the witnesses. That's the defense lawyer's and the prosecutor's job. Of course, the juror is also intended to use his or her own common sense. That's why they are there. If the victim was shot, but there is no gun in evidence, a juror is going to assume that either no gun was found or that it was suppressed for some reason, and to draw conclusions from that even in the absence of testimony. Same thing in your case.  If the charge is relatively minor(18 year old boy being prosecuted for statutory rape for consensual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend) but the prosecutor is trying to crucify him, a juror is going to presume either that there is a much bigger history that is not in evidence or that the prosecutor is a religious nut or political opportunist. Those presumptions will affect a verdict even if they are not based on evidence or testimony. JBENZ 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Herald]

NO. If the attorneys want you to have more information, they will provide it. I was recently a juror on a criminal case. It was very frustrating because we all thought that the attorneys for both sides were not giving us enough information to help us decide the case. there were so many unanswered questions. We asked the judge if we could ask the attorneys for more information, and he told us no - we had to decide the case just on the facts that were presented in court, nothing else. we ended up letting the guy off! even though we were pretty sure he was involved in the crime, they didn't give us enough information to convict him. MaZell 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Milton]

In Texas, the jury is silent during the examination of witnesses. During deliberation, the jury can pass questions to the judge through the bailif. The judge will decide what data is relavant to share with the jury. Usually, if the answer to the jury's question is not found in the transcript of the testimony, it will not be given. But that does not prevent you from asking.   Details like prior criminal record seem relevant to us normal humans, but the law has very specific guidelines about what testimony is relevant at trial. The judge is the final arbiter on what information is presented to the jury, and the jury is only allowed to consider the testimony presented to it during the trial. If you didn't hear the answer to your question during witness examination, go ahead and ask the judge during deliberations, but don't be surprised if the answer comes back that you do not need that data to come to a verdict.   I hope this helps.