TITLE THREE — TRIAL PROCEEDINGS
Rule 24.1. Trial by Jury; Petit Juries in Prosecutions for Treason
When a Jury Is Available. A defendant may demand a petit jury only when charged with the offence of treason. 6 R. Stat. § 131.111. In the prosecution of treason the defendant shall have, upon demand, the right to a trial by an impartial jury; in all other circumstances a bench trial shall be administered. 6 R. Stat. § 131.306. The right to trial by jury is preserved only when explicitly demanded by law. Const. art. I, § 7.
Demand.
Form. A demand for trial by jury shall be in writing, shall be signed by the defendant and by counsel for the defendant, shall identify the count charging treason upon which the demand is made, and shall be filed in the electronic filing system under Rule 32 and stated upon the record in the proceeding communications.
Time. The demand shall be filed not later than the conclusion of the pretrial hearing under Rule 11(b). The court may for good cause shown permit a demand to be filed at any time before the commencement of trial.
Effect of Failure to Demand. A defendant who does not demand a jury within the time allowed shall be tried by the court.
Withdrawal of the Demand; Waiver.
Before Selection. The defendant may withdraw a demand for trial by jury as of right at any time before the examination of prospective jurors begins.
After Selection. After the examination of prospective jurors has begun, a demand may be withdrawn only with the approval of the court and the consent of the State.
Colloquy. Before accepting a withdrawal of the demand the court shall determine upon the record that the defendant understands the right being relinquished and that the withdrawal is knowing and voluntary. The defendant shall be present. Rule 18.
Effect. Upon an accepted withdrawal the case shall proceed as a trial by the court under Rule 24(k).
Qualifications of Jurors. The qualifications of jurors in criminal cases shall be lawful residents of the State of Ridgeway with no court conviction on record. 6 R. Stat. § 131.115. The Clerk shall verify the qualification of each person summoned against the records of the court and shall report the result to the court and to the parties before the examination begins.
Summoning the Panel.
By the Clerk. Upon the allowance of a demand the Clerk shall summon such number of qualified persons as the court directs. The number directed shall be not fewer than that required to constitute the jury and any alternates after the exercise of every challenge for cause and every peremptory challenge allowed by this rule.
Additional Persons. Where the panel is exhausted before a jury is impanelled, the court shall direct that additional qualified persons be summoned.
Identification. Each person summoned shall be identified upon the record by username.
Challenge to the Panel. A challenge to the manner in which the panel was selected shall be made before the examination of prospective jurors begins and shall be determined by the court upon the record.
Examination of Prospective Jurors.
By the Court. The court shall examine the prospective jurors upon the record. The examination shall be directed to the qualifications required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.115 and to the grounds of challenge for cause stated in 6 R. Stat. § 131.112.
Proposed Questions. A party may submit proposed questions in writing before the examination begins. The court shall put such of the proposed questions as it finds proper, and shall state upon the record its action upon each question refused.
Examination by Counsel. The court may permit counsel to examine prospective jurors directly. Where the court so permits, each party shall be allowed fifteen minutes for the examination of the entire panel, which the court on motion or sua sponte may reasonably reduce or extend.
Scope. No question shall be put to a prospective juror concerning the juror’s deliberative disposition upon the facts of the case, nor to obtain a commitment to a particular verdict.
Challenges for Cause.
Grounds. A challenge for cause to an individual juror may be made only on the following grounds: that the juror does not have the qualifications required by law; that the juror has conscientious beliefs that would preclude the juror from finding the defendant guilty; that the juror served on the grand jury that found the indictment; that the juror served on a jury formerly sworn to try the defendant for the same offence; that the juror is an adverse party to the defendant in a civil action, or has complained or been accused by the defendant in a criminal prosecution; or that the juror was a witness for the State or the defendant. 6 R. Stat. § 131.112. No other ground shall be entertained.
Number. Challenges for cause are not limited in number.
Time; Determination. A challenge for cause shall be made before the juror is sworn. The court shall determine the challenge upon the record and shall state the ground of its ruling.
By the Court. The court may excuse a prospective juror for cause upon its own motion where a ground stated in Rule 24.1(h)(1) appears.
Peremptory Challenges.
Number. The State of Ridgeway and the defendant shall each be allowed three (3) peremptory challenges. 6 R. Stat. § 131.113. The court shall not enlarge the number allowed.
Joint Defendants. Where two or more defendants are tried together, the defendants shall together be allowed three peremptory challenges and shall exercise them jointly.
Manner. Peremptory challenges shall be exercised upon the record and alternately, beginning with the State, after every challenge for cause has been determined. A peremptory challenge may be exercised without stated cause.
Waiver. A party who declines to exercise a peremptory challenge when its turn arrives does not thereby forfeit a remaining challenge, but no challenge may be exercised after the jury and any alternates have been sworn.
Alternates. No additional peremptory challenge is allowed on account of the selection of alternate jurors. The challenges allowed by this subdivision apply to the selection of the jury and of any alternates together.
Number of Jurors; Alternates.
Number. Six (6) persons shall constitute a jury to try a charge of treason. 6 R. Stat. § 131.114. A verdict shall not be returned by fewer than six jurors.
Alternates. The court may direct that not more than two alternate jurors be selected. An alternate juror shall be qualified, examined, challenged, and sworn in the same manner as a juror, shall attend the trial, and shall be subject to the same admonitions and restrictions.
Function. An alternate juror who does not replace a juror shall not deliberate and shall be discharged when the jury retires to deliberate, unless the court retains the alternate under Rule 24.1(q)(3).
The Oath; Impanelment.
Oath. After every challenge has been determined, the court or the Clerk shall administer to the jurors and to any alternates an oath or affirmation to try the issues joined and to render a true verdict according to the evidence and the law given them by the court. 3 R. Stat. § 131.104.
Impanelment. The jury is impanelled when the oath has been administered to the last juror. The Clerk shall enter the impanelment upon the docket with the time at which the oath was administered.
Jeopardy. Jeopardy attaches upon impanelment as provided by Rule 27(f).
Foreperson. Upon retiring to deliberate the jurors shall elect one of their number as foreperson. The foreperson shall preside over the deliberations, shall transmit to the court any communication of the jury, and shall sign the verdict.
Conduct of Jurors; Admonitions.
Admonition. Upon impanelment, upon each recess, and upon the conclusion of each session, the court shall admonish the jurors that they shall not discuss the case with any person or among themselves until the case is submitted to them; that they shall not communicate concerning the case in any channel, server, direct message, or in-game medium other than the proceeding communications and the deliberation channel designated by the court; that they shall not seek or receive information concerning the case, the parties, the witnesses, or the law from any source outside the evidence and the instructions of the court; that they shall not conduct any investigation of their own, in-game or otherwise; and that they shall report to the court any attempt to communicate with them concerning the case.
Report of Misconduct. A juror shall report to the court, upon the record or through the Clerk, any violation of Rule 24.1(m)(1) known to the juror.
Consequences. A juror who violates an admonition may be discharged under Rule 24.1(q) and is subject to Rule 43.
Juror as Witness. Rid. R. Evid. 606 governs the competency of a juror as a witness.
Deliberations.
Channel. The jury shall deliberate in a channel designated by the court to which only the jurors, and any alternate retained under Rule 24.1(q)(3), have access.
Materials. The jury shall take with it the exhibits admitted in evidence and any written charge furnished under Rule 24.2(g). The jury shall not take an exhibit marked for identification and not admitted.
Communications with the Court. A communication from the jury shall be transmitted by the foreperson to the court and shall be entered upon the record. The court shall not respond to a communication of the jury except upon the record, after notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard. Rule 24.2(h) governs supplemental instructions.
Presence. The parties and counsel shall remain available in the proceeding communications during deliberations unless excused by the court.
Separation. The court may permit or forbid the separation of the jurors during deliberations and shall state its direction upon the record.
Unanimity; The Verdict.
Unanimity. Without the unanimous consent of the jury the person cannot be found guilty. Const. art. I, § 7. A verdict of guilty shall be returned only upon the unanimous consent of all six jurors. A verdict of not guilty shall likewise be returned only upon the unanimous agreement of all six jurors.
Form. The verdict shall be in writing, shall state the verdict as to each count submitted, and shall be signed by the foreperson.
Return. The verdict shall be returned in open court upon the record, in the presence of the defendant or, where the defendant is absent under Rule 18(c) or Rule 18.3, in the presence of counsel for the defendant, and shall be read by the Clerk or by the foreperson as the court directs. Where the defendant is absent the Clerk shall record the absence and the presence of counsel at the return, and shall transmit notice of the verdict as Rule 18.4(h)(2) requires.
Lesser Included Offences. Where the court has submitted a lesser included offence, the verdict shall state the jury’s verdict upon the offence charged and, where required by the instructions, upon the lesser included offence.
Partial Verdict. Where the jury has agreed upon some counts and not upon others, the court may receive a verdict upon the counts agreed and proceed under Rule 27(c) as to the remainder.
Polling the Jury. After a verdict is returned and before the jury is discharged, the court shall, upon the request of a party or upon its own motion, poll the jurors individually upon the record. Where the poll discloses that the verdict is not unanimous, the court shall not receive the verdict and shall either direct the jury to retire for further deliberation or declare a mistrial under Rule 27.
Discharge of a Juror; Substitution.
Grounds. The court may discharge a juror who becomes unable or disqualified to perform the duties of a juror, who violates an admonition given under Rule 24.1(m), or who fails to appear at a session of the trial. The court shall state the ground upon the record.
Before Deliberations. Where a juror is discharged before the jury retires to deliberate, an alternate juror shall take the place of the discharged juror in the order in which the alternates were selected.
After Deliberations Begin. Where a juror is discharged after the jury has retired to deliberate, the court may retain an alternate and substitute the alternate for the discharged juror only where the alternate has remained subject to the admonitions of Rule 24.1(m) and has not deliberated; and upon substitution the court shall instruct the jury to begin its deliberations anew.
Inability to Agree. Where the jury reports that it is unable to agree upon a verdict, the court may inquire whether further deliberation is likely to produce agreement and may direct further deliberation. The court shall not instruct or urge a juror to abandon a conscientious view of the evidence in order to reach a verdict. Where the court finds that the jury, after due deliberation, is unable to agree, the court shall declare a mistrial under Rule 27(c).
Discharge of the Jury. The jury shall be discharged upon the reception and recording of the verdict, upon the declaration of a mistrial, or upon the entry of a finding of not guilty under Rule 25. Upon discharge the court shall inform the jurors that they are released from the admonitions of Rule 24.1(m), except that a juror shall not be permitted to state or testify how any juror voted or what opinion any juror expressed.
Record. The Clerk shall enter upon the docket the persons summoned, the persons excused and the ground of each excusal, the jurors and alternates sworn, the time of impanelment, the time at which the jury retired, each communication of the jury and the court’s response, the verdict as returned, the result of any poll, and the discharge of the jury.