Jury Deliberations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jury Deliberations - Assignment Example The Court emphasized further that the most important function of the jury is to provide "common sense judgment of a group of laymen" and shall have the opportunity to deliberate freely, without force and intimidation from outside sources as they decide on the question of a defendant’s guilt. The advantage of eliminating unanimity of 12 votes will minimize the potential for hung juries caused by bribery or juror’s irrationality and caprices, resulting in lesser number of retrials, save on court expenses and decongest the court’s dockets. In addition, there is no need for unanimous verdict since at present time, the convicted felon is no longer subjected to cruel and unusual punishment compared to olden times. On the other hand, the second proposal of changing the number of jurors from 12 to 6 in all criminal cases, though maintaining the requirement that the verdict be unanimous violates the accused's right to a trial by jury as protected by the Sixth and Fourteen th Amendments.  In the case of Burch Vs.