arizona along with most governments uses this to STACK the jury and get jurys to convict people of crimes where the laws are UNJUST and UNFAIR such as the drug war laws which jail people for harmless crimes such as smoking marijuana, or sex crimes which jail homosexuals for having sex, or jail married folks for adultry, or jail people for having oral sex, all of which are currently illegal in arizona.
see http://www.oocities.org/az_libertarians
Jurors: The Power of 12 The Arizona Supreme Court Committee on More Effective Use of Juries Trial
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41. Do not Instruct Juries on Jury Nullification; However, the Rules of Evidence Ought to be Expanded in Recognition of the Jury's Power to Nullify Except in extraordinary situations or where required by the Arizona Constitution, juries should not be instructed on the subject of jury nullification. However, relevancy rules should be amended or interpreted to permit greater latitude in evidence in recognition of the jury's undoubted power to nullify the law. For example, evidence of the defendant's intent and motive ought to be received.
42. Give Jurors Copies of the Jury Instructions The judge's preliminary and final instructions should be in writing. Each juror should be given copies of both. The jurors should be able to take their copies of the jury instructions with them to the jury room, especially during deliberations.
43. Read the Final Instructions Before Closing Arguments of Counsel, Not After To increase juror understanding of the law and its relation to the case, and their understanding of closing arguments, and to facilitate the arguments, the final instructions ought to be read before closing arguments by counsel.
44. Alternate Jurors Should Not Be Released From Service in Criminal Cases Until a Verdict is Announced or the Jury is Discharged Because of the ever-present risk of losing a deliberating juror to illness or other personal emergency, which would reduce the jury in a criminal case below the minimum number required for a verdict, alternate jurors should be admonished that they might be needed for deliberations and to continue to observe all the rules governing jurors' conduct until notified of a verdict. If an alternate is substituted, the jurors should be instructed to begin deliberations anew.
45. Allow All Jurors Remaining at the End of a Civil Trial to Deliberate and Vote No juror should be designated an alternate and excused at the end of civil cases. All jurors who remain at the close of arguments should deliberate upon and decide the case. The number of jurors' votes needed for a verdict should be determined by the trial judge to assure that the requirement of three-fourths vote is met. Previous Page Jury Deliberations
46. The Trial Judge Should Decide on a Schedule for Jury Deliberations and Inform Jurors in Advance The scheduling of days and times for jury deliberations should be left to the discretion of the trial judge, taking into account individual case and other local requirements. Jurors should be informed of the schedule in advance.
47. Encourage Juror Questions About the Final Instructions Judges should solicit questions from jurors about the final instructions before and during deliberations by, among other things, telling them in the written charge that such questions are welcome and by soliciting their questions, if any, after a reasonable period of deliberations has passed.
48. Fully Answer Deliberating Jurors' Questions and Meet Their Requests The trial judge should fully and fairly respond to all questions asked and requests made by deliberating jurors concerning the instructions and the evidence, recognizing that the jurors are capable of defining their needs in deciding the case.
49. Offer the Assistance of the Judge and Counsel to Deliberating Jurors who Report an Impasse After hearing from deliberating jurors that they feel they are at an impasse, the trial judge should invite the jurors to list the issues that divide them in the event that the judge and counsel can be of assistance, e.g., by clarifying instructions or rearguing certain points.
50. When Juries Reported to be at Impasse are Returned for Further Deliberations They Should Not Be Instructed Any Further If the judge and trial attorneys are unable to be of further assistance after dialoguing with a jury at impasse, or if after those further proceedings the jurors are returned for additional deliberations, no further instructions should be given asking or encouraging them to reach a verdict, at least in criminal cases. Previous Page Post-Verdict Stage
51. Become Proactive in Detecting and Treating Juror Stress After trials likely to cause unusual stress or trauma for jurors, the judge should conduct an immediate jury debriefing with the help of a mental health professional. One follow-up visit with the professional ought to be provided at no cost. Any juror needing further assistance should be referred to community resources.
52. Assist Jurors in Coping with Fears of Contact or Retaliation When jurors express what appear to be reasonable concerns about the dangers of being contacted or made the target of retaliation during or following trial, the court should, after notice to the parties, conduct a debriefing and make referrals to law enforcement authorities as necessary.
53. Solicit Jurors' Reactions to their Courthouse Experience The jury commissioner and trial judge should conduct regular surveys of juror responses to jury service in general and to the trial in particular. Survey results should be tallied and reviewed by judges, jury commissioners and court policy makers.
54. Advise Jurors Concerning Post-Verdict Conversations with the Judge, Attorneys and the Media When trial jurors are discharged, the judge should advise them that they are free to discuss the case with the attorneys and parties, the judge, media and the public if they wish, but that they are free not to do so if they choose. The judge should offer to meet with any jurors who wish to do so, to thank them personally and to answer questions of a general nature. Previous Page Jurors' Bill of Rights
55. Promulgate A Proposed Bill of Rights for Arizona Jurors A Jurors' Bill of Rights listing the more important rights and expectations of jurors, both those presently existing and those created as a result of this report, should be promulgated to aid in educating all concerned and to better assure that the rights are observed.