A jury in a California criminal case consists of 12 individuals from the county in which the case is being tried. All jury members must be:
- US citizen
- legal resident of the county to which you have been summoned
- and at least 18 years of age.
The role of the jury is to decide the facts of a case based on the evidence they perceived in court. Twelve members are selected via a process known as voir dire. Translated from Latin, this refers to “an oath to tell the truth.” During voir dire, the potential jury panel members are evaluated individually to determine if each prospective member can be a fair and partial judge of the case, free from bias or outside influence. Both the judge and the attorneys will ask the panel members question during this stage of the proceeding.
Only a jury can decided whether the accused is guilty of an offense; all 12 members must unanimous agree before rendering a not guilty or guilty verdict. Hence, the defense, at the minimum, can prevent a conviction by convincing one juror to vote not guilty. If the jury is deadlocked, the judge must declare a mistrial. The prosecution must retry the criminal case or attempt to re-negotiate a disposition.
The Law Office takes great pride in using jury trials as a negotiating tool, particularly in difficult cases (presence of admissions, confessions, narcotics, etc.). At times, attorney Juan Dotson has defended cases that have resulted in a mistrial due to a jury deadlock. Rather than face another mistrial, the prosecution amended their stance and accepted pre-trial counter-offers.