Explain why it is that juries cannot be smaller than 6 people or larger than 12.

What will be an ideal response?


The number of jurors needed for jury trial involves a balance of expense versus fulfilling the ideal of trial by jury. As juries deliberate as a group, a process that involves significant give-and-take, it is argued that juries with more members will have more constructive deliberations. In addition, larger juries are likely to have broader demographic representation, and therefore be more representative of the community they represent. On the other hand, unnecessarily large juries are an added expense to an already-burdened system. Requiring larger juries also entails an increased number of citizens to be called in for jury duty and increased costs in assembling and administering juries. For these reasons, the courts have made the size requirement between 6 and 12 in order to balance expense with fulfilling the ideal of trial by jury.

Criminal Justice

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