Why are there only six people on the Zimmerman jury? nt

[Callmecrazy]

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. That's the way they do it in Florida.

[Fresh_Start]

2. Florida is why....

Their crimes, their rules.

[HooptieWagon]

3. 12 only used in capital cases.

[Egalitarian Thug]

4. Floriduh. n/t

[Bjorn Against]

5. Florida law only requires six

Most states still do 12 but the Supreme Court ruled a while back that only six are legally required.

[Callmecrazy]

6. Really?

I've lived here for four years and never heard that.
I need to get out more.

[Mr.Bill]

7. Because they're all women

and we all know women have twice the power. At least us married guys know, anyway.

[customerserviceguy]

16. I'm not religious

but amen, bro!

[FourScore]

17. Got that right!

[spin]

8. It saves money. ...

Remember Florida doesn't have an income tax. Consequently the state has to use its money wisely. Why hire twelve people to do a job that six can do.

[Callmecrazy]

9. I don't buy that...

I lived in Nevada and served on a 12 person jury there. No income tax there either.

[pnwmom]

10. We don't have an income tax but we still have 12 person juries,

which is much better for a defendant than a 6 person jury. It's twice as easy to get one holdout out of twelve, than one holdout of six.

[frazzled]

14. They pay jurors next to nothing

(here in Cook County, IL., it's $17.20 a day). So I doubt it's the money.

[TorchTheWitch]

11. that's just how Florida does it

They only have 12 person juries if it's a death penalty case. I can see both good reasons and bad reasons about the number of jurors.

[russspeakeasy]

12. We do everything half assed.

[Union Scribe]

13. It is modeled on the DU jury system. nt

[Gregorian]

15. Six? Sheesh, why not just one!

Fuck, that's awful.

Hell, one would save even more time and money. I can just imagine being prosecuted for a crime I didn't commit, and the jury is old stupid Palin loving uncle Joe. GUILTY!

What a god damned nightmare. I will never ever set foot in Florida.

[bike man]

18. According to this, Connecticut and Florida allow juries of only 6

for serious cases, while many states allow six in misdemeanor cases

http://www.volokh.com/2013/06/20/the-six-person-jury-in-the-zimmerman-case/

The Supreme Court has held, in Williams v. Florida (1970), that the right to trial by jury doesn’t require the traditional jury of twelve people; six suffices. (Ballew v. Georgia (1978) held that juries of five or fewer are unconstitutional.)

Nonetheless, while many states allow six-person juries in misdemeanor cases, very few allow them for very serious felonies, such as murder, for which Zimmerman is being tried. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, State Court Organization 2004, tbl. 42 (supplemented by this statute, only Connecticut and Florida provide for a six-person jury for very serious but noncapital felonies, and only Florida provides for a six-person jury when the offenses is punishable by life imprisonment (with or without parole); Utah apparently provides for an eight-person jury; all other states provide for twelve-person juries. (Again, I’m speaking here of very serious felonies; a few more states provide for six-person juries for less serious felonies as well as misdemeanors.)

[Callmecrazy]

19. A six member jury for murder?

What do you have to do for a 12 member panel? Violate HOA regs? Leave empty garbage cans out overnight?

Vote Democrat?

[kentuck]

20. Because it's half a jury.

There is a reason for 12 men or women on a jury. Guilt or innocence is not a trivial matter in a court of law. It is a travesty of justice to only have six on a jury, in my opinion.

[In_The_Wind]

21. Maybe they were having a difficult time finding jurors who didn't want to hang Zimmerman.