Add Checkboxes To Legal Massachusetts Jury Instructions Forms For Free

In very rare cases, if it would be an extreme hardship for you to come to the courthouse at all to ask to be excused, you can submit a written request to be excused under OJC Regulation 9. Common difficulties such as inconvenience, no childcare, or business obligations don't qualify.

The judge will advise the jury that it is the sole judge of the facts and of the credibility (believability) of witnesses. He or she will note that the jurors are to base their conclusions on the evidence as presented in the trial, and that the opening and closing arguments of the lawyers are not evidence.

The judge instructs the jury that their vote must be unanimous and that, if found guilty, the boy will face the death penalty. Cut to the jury room where the story takes place. An anonymous vote is taken where all the jurors vote guilty, save one...

You are not living in the jurisdiction of the court where the trial will take place and do not expect to return there within the next 12 months. You are over 70 and choose not to serve as a juror. You have already served on a jury (state or federal) in the last 3 years or are currently serving.

In a jury trial, there is no written judgment: the jury simply pronounces the verdict of Guilty or Not Guilty. As a result, the instructions given to the jury by the judge, and the comments the judge makes to the jury, are carefully scrutinized by the Court of Appeal. Errors can result in the case being overturned.

The jurors meet in a room outside the courtroom to decide whether the prosecutor has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. All the jurors must agree on the decision or verdict ? their decision must be unanimous.