Does Jury Size Matter?
In most cases, juries are either 12 or 6 people. In most criminal cases the number of jurors is 12. While I was learning this lesson, I couldn’t stop questioning to myself about how the number of people serving on a jury can “affect” the result of a trial.
In Asch (1951)’s experiment, participants in his study judged the length of a line. A group of confederates in the experiment made an incorrect answer about the line on purpose. For me, the results were quite surprising. The experimental participants tend to conform with the incorrect judgment. They knew they doubted about giving their wrong answers. Yes, an individual’s judgement can be greatly influenced by others.
I think small juries may differ from larger juries in both the quality and deliberations. According to Nicole L. Waters in the National Centre for State Courts, 6-person juries perform worse when recalling the evidence compared to 12-person juries. For example, the likelihood that at least one juror will retain evidence increases in a larger group. Memory recalling is improved in jurors of 12-person juries in long trials. This research got to the outcome that 12 members of juries have a better chance.
I think reducing the size of juries can save more money, but it might be less representative of the community. It is a lot worthier even if courts cover the cost. Here are some reasons why I think jury size does matter. First, small juries have less effective group deliberation, so they might be more exposed to more error-prone. Second, small juries can produce less accurate decision and greater variability. These are highly related to the risk of convicting an innocent person.Therefore, jury size does matter.
References
Pennsylvania State University: World Campus. 2016. Lesson 8: The Legal System/Criminal Justice. DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCH 424.
Waters, L. Nicole (2004). Does Jury Size Matter?. Retrieved from http://www.ncsc-jurystudies.org/~/media/Microsites/Files/CJS/What%20We%20Do/DOES%20JURY%20SIZE%20MATTER.ashx