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Persuasive Essay On A Jury Duty

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At this point in our lives we’ve all probably had jury duty, in fact some of us have probably served on a jury. I was selected to serve on a jury the very first time I went to jury duty. I found the whole process very interesting. It’s definitely not as exciting as it appears on television and in movies. I don’t remember a lot of rules being discussed regarding the actual verdict. We sat through all of the testimonies. There was no evidence to present. Just one person’s word against the other. Then we all went back to the room and discussed our thoughts. Everyone felt that the defendant was not guilty except me. It was a very weird feeling. Once people made their points I started to come to their side, but I didn’t like the whole process. Why did we all have to agree? Why did we get to know what each one of us voted? I eventually concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict so I also agreed to a not guilty verdict in the end. I didn’t like the peer pressure that I felt in that situation or the fact that if we didn’t agree we would be considered a hung jury. The pressure that a jury must be unanimous for a verdict to be declared causes many mistrials that could otherwise be avoided saving everyone time and money. The Constitution states “[i]n all criminal cases the defendant has the right to be tried by a jury of 12 whose verdict must be unanimous.” In the federal court system, a jury must be unanimous, whether the case is civil or criminal; while in the state

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