CASE 13.1

Question

Throughout most of our nation's history, the three broad constitutional provisions dealing with trial by jury had little applicability in state courts. The U.S. Constitution applied only to trials in federal courts. These practices changed dramatically, however, when the Supreme Court decided Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), ruling that the jury provisions of the Sixth Amendment were incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to state courts, as well. Subsequent decisions grappled with the problem of defining the precise meaning of the right to trial by jury. The most important issues concerned the scope of the right to a jury trial, the size of the jury, and unanimous versus nonunanimous verdicts.
Stefanie is caught shoplifting at her local pharmacy. Which of the following is most likely true?

A. She will have to testify if her case goes to trial.
B. She does not have a right to a jury trial.
C. She has a right to a jury trial.
D. Her jury trial must have nine members.

Answer 1

Answer: B