What's the Verdict on the Jury System?

Civics on the Rocks

Listen to resident foremen, Mack and Steve, make the call on our system of law. There’s also some references to pandemics and hurricanes in this show. Good times!

References

What’s the difference between a petit jury and a grand jury?

United States Courts. “Types of Juries.” https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/types-juries

Steve was wrong. Louisiana does, in fact, have juries:

Louisiana State Bar Association. “Jury Duty.” https://www.lsba.org/ChildrensLaw/COAJuryDuty.aspx

Anne was wrong. Petit juries and petite clothes are not spelled the same.

Though no one is sure, many people credit England with the creation of the jury system:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Jury.” Updated March 12, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/jury

Learn about the Magna Carta:

UK Parliament. “Magna Carta.” https://www.parliament.uk/

Didn’t get the Brexit joke?

BBC News. “Brexit: What you need to know about the UK leaving the EU.” December 30, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

Steve was correct. The “Dark Ages” is no longer the term du jour. Learn about the Migration Period:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Migration period.” March 23, 2018. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Dark-Ages

Learn about feudalism:

Brown, Elizabeth A. R. “Feudalism.” Updated March 4, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/feudalism

Learn about Common Law:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Common law.” Updated March 3, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law

Learn about Justinian’s Code:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Code of Justinian.” April 7, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Code-of-Justinian

Learn about the Napoleonic Code:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Napoleonic Code.” November 14, 2023. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Napoleonic-Code

Despite Mack’s strong wording, the Napoleonic Code did have an influence on the law system of the state of Louisiana:

Scalise, Ronald. “Napoleonic Code (French Civil Code).” Updated June 28, 2023. 64 Parishes. https://64parishes.org/entry/napoleonic-code-adaptation

Learn about voir dire:

Brenner, David. “Voir Dire.” August 2023. State Bar of Texas. https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=articles&ContentID=60713&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm

Want to know the specifics about how a search warrant is issued in Texas:

Texas Constitution and Statutes. “Chapter 18. Search Warrants.” https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR.18.htm

The person who said the thing about indicting a ham sandwich was Sol Wachtler:

Levin, Josh. “The Judge Who Coined ‘Indict a Ham Sandwich’ Was Himself Indicted.” November 25, 2014. Slate. https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/11/sol-wachtler-the-judge-who-coined-indict-a-ham-sandwich-was-himself-indicted.html

Mack was wrong. Florida does have grand juries:

Florida Supreme Court. “The Statewide Grand Jury.” Last modified March 30, 2023. https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/News-Media/Statewide-Grand-Jury

Wiretaps are different:

Bureau of Justice Assistance. “Title III of The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Wiretap Act).” https://bja.ojp.gov/program/it/privacy-civil-liberties/authorities/statutes/1284

What’s a FISA court?

Bureau of Justice Assistance. “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). https://bja.ojp.gov/program/it/privacy-civil-liberties/authorities/statutes/1286

The CIA chooses to characterize themselves slightly differently than Steve and Mack do:

CIA. “Top 10 CIA Myths.” August 14, 2018. https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/top-10-cia-myths/

Steve was right. It’s called a no bill:

Cornell Law School. “True Bill.” Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/true_bill

Book that Steve referenced, but got the name of the author slightly mixed up:

Akhil Reed Amar. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. (Yale University Press, 2000).

That quote was, indeed, in the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776):

“The civil jury trial is preferable to any other and ought to be held sacred.” https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/virginia-declaration-of-rights

Sounds like a good podcast topic to me:

ACLU. “Asset Forfeiture Abuse.” https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police/asset-forfeiture-abuse

Learn about some of the injustice in the justice system:

Equal Justice Initiative. “Race and The Jury: Illegal Discrimination in the Jury Selection.” https://eji.org/report/race-and-the-jury/a-history-of-discrimination-in-jury-selection/#chapter-1

In case you are unfamiliar, here is a very short history of Emmett Till’s murder:

FBI. “Emmett Till.” https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/emmett-till

Here’s another good podcast topic:

Meyer, Jon’a F. “Plea Bargaining.” January 6, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/plea-bargaining

How do you start kicking out jurors?

United States Courts. “Juror Selection Process.” https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/juror-selection-process

Mack was right. It’s called a preemptory challenge:

Cornell Law School. “Preemptory Challenge.” Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/peremptory_challenge

Learn how federal judges are appointed for life and paid for life:

United States Courts. “About Federal Judges.” https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/about-federal-judges

Alexander Hamilton (Alexandar Hamilton) wrote Federalist 78 (1778) and you can access it here:

https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/alexander-hamilton-federalist-no-78-1788

That’s correct everyone, the Constitution lists no qualifications to become a supreme court judge:

The Law Dictionary. “Qualifications to Become a Supreme Court Justice.” https://thelawdictionary.org/article/qualifications-to-become-a-supreme-court-justice/

The recipe for a London Fog cocktail:

https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1186/london-fog

The recipe for a West Indian cocktail:

https://www.mixology.recipes/cocktails/west-indian

The recipe for a Pegu Club cocktail:

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/pegu-club-2/

If you want to visit the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk:

https://www.riversideiowa.gov/

Book that Mack is reading:

Michael Lewis. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. (W. W. Norton & Company, 2021).

The other book by the same guy:

Michael Lewis. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011).

Learn about the CDC:

https://www.cdc.gov/index.htm

Learn about Charity Dean:

COVID Collaborative. “Charity Dean.” https://www.covidcollaborative.us/team/charity-dean

Learn about FEMA:

https://www.fema.gov/

Learn about Hurricane Katrina:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Hurricane Katrina.” Updated March 11, 2024. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina

Here’s a little overview of the White House’s pandemic plans, starting with George W. Bush:

Wilensky, Gail. “The Importance of Reestablishing a Pandemic Preparedness Office at the White House.” July 9, 2020. JAMA Network. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2768321

Yes, Hewlett-Packard was built in a garage. Do you want to see it?

HP Museum. “The HP Garage – The Birthplace of Silicon Valley.” https://www.hpmuseum.org/garage/garage.htm

In case you never heard of him:

Service to America Medals. “Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.” https://servicetoamericamedals.org/honorees/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/

If you want to know how much jurors are paid:

United States Courts. “Juror Pay.” https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/juror-pay

And Anne probably won’t be replacing Justice Sotomayor on the Supreme Court. But you already knew that.