If you are on trial for a crime, there's a good chance that a jury will be deciding your fate. A jury is a group of people that are selected to hear the case and make a decision on it. Here are three things that you may be wondering when it comes to the jury that will be determining the verdict of your case.

How they are chosen

According to Cornell University Law School, a jury usually consists of six to twelve people. There may also be one alternate juror that is selected to step in if one of the jurors is unable to serve the entire duty.

When a jury is chosen, a large group of people are summoned to court to be potential jurors. The attorneys from both sides of the case will get the opportunity to question each juror and will decide whether to keep them or dismiss them.

Your attorney's goal during jury selection is to choose jurors that would be best for your case. These would be people that are not biased against you or the crime you allegedly committed. This process is called "voir dire."

The role of the jury

The main role of the jury is to determine the verdict of your case – innocent or guilty. The judge monitoring the case will give instructions to the jurors that they are to decide this answer based on the facts they hear during the case.

Jurors will have the opportunity to discuss and vote on what they believe, but they are not allowed to vote "guilty" unless they are certain that the person is guilty. If any doubt exists, the judge will tell them that they cannot convict the person of the crime.

Because of this, your attorney will try to instill doubt in their minds. By doing this, there is a greater chance that they will choose an innocent verdict at the end of the case.

The voting process

When the trial is complete and the jury is ready to deliberate, they will all get the chance to place their votes. In most cases, a jury must reach a unanimous decision. This means they must all agree that the defendant is guilty or innocent, and the jury can take as much time as necessary to complete the deliberation process.

If the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the court will label this a "hung jury." When this happens, it may require a completely new trial with a brand new set of jurors.

If you have any other questions about how your trial will work, talk to your criminal defense lawyer about it.

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