SCOTUS Declines to Hear Appeal Arguing That 12-Person Juries Are Constitutionally Required for Felony Cases
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Tillman v. Florida, in which the defendant was convicted by a 6-person jury in Florida of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, he argued that his conviction by a jury of fewer than 12 persons violates the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Six states – Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah – allow juries of fewer than 12 persons to decide felony cases. Justice Gorsuch dissented from the cert denial.
NCSC publishes the first briefing papers from the 2023 State-of-the-States Survey of Jury Improvements
A sincere THANK YOU to the judges, jury managers, attorneys, and court administrators who responded to surveys about jury operations and jury trials! The first five briefing papers from the 2023 SOS Survey are now available on the NCSC Center for Jury Studies website. They provide an overview of the project, data, and methods; updated estimates of the volume and frequency of jury trials in state courts; the practices courts employed to conduct jury trials during COVID-19; an overview of voir dire practices across the country, including judge and lawyer assessments of their effectiveness in selecting fair and impartial jurors; and updated jury yield and juror utilization statistics for state courts. More papers will be released soon, including detailed summaries of criminal and civil jury trials, high-profile jury trials, jury operations, current jury reform efforts, and more exciting information about the best part of the American justice system!
Save the Date!
NCSC Center for Jury Studies is proud to host an exciting webinar on July 18 from 3:00 to 4:15 pm ET. We’ll hear from a team at the Maricopa County Superior Court on how they’ve used remote case-specific questionnaires to revolutionize jury selection by providing greater convenience for prospective jurors, offering more meaningful insights into juror impartiality, and reducing operational costs through improved juror utilization.
Register today for Streamlining Jury Selection: The Power of Remote Case-Specific Juror Questionnaires.