It appears there is a pretty good chance Louisiana will reform its jury law to match most of the country. Louisiana, like a handful of other states, requires 10 of 12 people to convict for serious crimes. Most states require a unanimous verdict.
If things go as expected, voters will decide whether or not to allow split jury decisions for convictions or require all the jurors agree. As a practicing attorney, I usually recommend my clients take a jury over a bench or judge trial. You never know what will happen when picking the jury. To some extent, who winds up on your jury is somewhat the luck of the draw. Despite that, I find the jurors usually do a better job understanding the situation than most judges.
A problem with judge trials is the judges have seen everything and heard everything. As a result, they often have their minds more made up than a group of jurors who are coming to the case fresh. I am hoping Louisiana voters will get the opportunity to decide on a new system.
For more information, take a look at the article below.
