SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Supreme Court rules non-unanimous jury verdicts unconstitutional
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that defendants in criminal trials can only be convicted by a unanimous jury, striking down a scheme that has been rejected by every state except one. The court said in a divided opinion that the Constitution requires agreement among all members of a jury in order to impose a guilty verdict.
"Wherever we might look to determine what the term 'trial by an impartial jury trial' meant at the time of the Sixth Amendment's adoption—whether it's the common law, state practices in the founding era, or opinions and treatises written soon afterward—the answer is unmistakable," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in an opinion. "A jury must reach a unanimous verdict in order to convict."
Oregon is the only state left in which defendants can be convicted over the dissent of up to two jurors. Louisiana recently abandoned the practice after more than a century of use.
The ruling overturns the 2016 conviction of a Louisiana man named Evangelisto Ramos. A jury by a 10-2 margin found him guilty of killing a woman in New Orleans. Two years after Ramos's conviction, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment getting rid of non-unanimous jury verdicts. The new ruling likely means that Ramos could get a new trial.
From the Ramos v. Louisiana syllabus:
In 48 States and federal court, a single juror's vote to acquit is enough to prevent a conviction. But two States, Louisiana and Oregon, have long punished people based on 10-to-2 verdicts. In this case, petitioner Evangelisto Ramos was convicted of a serious crime in a Louisiana court by a 10-to-2 jury verdict. Instead of the mistrial he would have received almost anywhere else, Ramos was sentenced to life without parole. He contests his conviction by a nonunanimous jury as an unconstitutional denial of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.
Held: The judgment is reversed.
(Score: 4, Funny) by nishi.b on Wednesday April 22 2020, @10:51AM (3 children)
Yeah, because Napoleon was mexican, I guess...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2020, @11:27AM
danged furriners is all the same.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday April 22 2020, @02:46PM (1 child)
LMAO, you need to study a bit of history. Here's a PDF that might help you to understand a little about Mexican law - http://www.lawmexico.com/articles/Mexican%20Legal%20System%20For%20Foreigners.pdf [lawmexico.com]
Need I help you to understand how France, and Napoleon came to be involved in Mexico? Alright, for starters, "Cinco de Mayo", commemmorates the Battle of Pueblo, fought against the French Empire, NOT against Spaniards. https://www.thoughtco.com/cinco-de-mayo-the-basics-2136661 [thoughtco.com]
Personally, I don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I prefer to quietly observe Camerone Day, on April 30th. http://foreignlegion.info/battle-of-camerone/ [foreignlegion.info]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2020, @06:32PM
>> I prefer to quietly observe Camerone Day
Cameron Diaz has her own day there? Cool.