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A gavel.<\/p>\n
Star-Telegram archives.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve probably heard the phrase before. People accused of crimes have the right to be judged by a \u201cjury of their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what does that actually mean?<\/p>\n
Does it mean a defendant will be judged by people of the same background? Or does the legal system define \u201cpeer\u201d differently?<\/p>\n
The answer may surprise you. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcf0 In case you missed it: <\/p>\n
What does \u2018a jury of your peers\u2019 mean in Texas?<\/p>\n
Legal experts say the phrase refers to an impartial group of people from the community where a case is being tried.<\/p>\n
\u201cContrary to popular belief, defendants are not tried by a tailor-made jury that\u2019s made up of jurors of the same race, age group, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation,\u201d attorneys at Zen Law firm,<\/a> which has offices in North Texas,<\/a> wrote in a blog post.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA long time ago in England, when a member of nobility was tried by a jury, he was tried by his fellow nobles instead of by the king,\u201d the post continued.<\/p>\n The firm said the concept has since evolved and is more broadly understood as a jury made up of one\u2019s fellow citizens.<\/p>\n How are juries selected in Texas?<\/p>\n Jury selection begins with the state randomly selecting a group of locals for what\u2019s known as a jury pool.<\/a><\/p>\n Before a jury is chosen, potential jurors answer questions from the defense, prosecution and judge to help determine whether anything in their background could cloud their judgment or make them biased in the case.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, if a woman\u2019s young daughter was killed by a drunk driver, she probably wouldn\u2019t be selected as a juror in an intoxicated manslaughter case. Or, if a man was a victim of a home invasion, he probably wouldn\u2019t be selected to serve on a jury trying a man for murder that occurred during a residential burglary. As you can imagine, certain experiences in a person\u2019s past could impact their attitude about the defendant,\u201d according to the Zen Law Firm blog post.<\/p>\n The goal is to avoid potential jurors who may be prejudiced, the law firm said. It also noted that selecting for race and gender are off-limits in jury selection, meaning defense attorneys and prosecutors cannot exclude a juror based on race or gender alone.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
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