Jury Trials in Mecklenburg County Robbery Cases

Robbery cases in Mecklenburg County are not trialed by juries often, but it does happen. A defendant has a constitutional right to have a trial by a jury of their peers. The makeup of the jury sometimes does not reflect who the defendant would consider being their peers, so whether the jury is an accurate reflection of the community and indicates a fair sentence will be rendered can always be a contentious issue in serious trials.

Read below to learn more about jury trials in Mecklenburg County robbery cases. And if you are facing charges, reach out to an experienced robbery lawyer today.

Jury Selection Process

The main purpose of selecting a jury pool is to eliminate anyone who may have a bias, either in favor of the prosecution or the defense. The best jury is the one that is able to hear the evidence impartially and uphold the presumption of innocence unless the prosecution proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The attorneys and the judge in a case will look for any evidence of racial bias or any other bias that could make a juror more likely to find someone guilty despite the lack of evidence. They will look for jurors who will pay attention, are prompt to court, express a willingness to be open-minded and examine the evidence, and have a firm belief of the presumption of innocence.

Creating a group that reflects the local community is important in selecting a jury. That often includes a jury being diverse, but the overarching goal of jury selection is not to mirror the percentages of the different demographics in the community. Rather, the goal is to select a random group of people willing to hear the case in an unbiased manner. The jury selection process can take anywhere from one hour to a full morning in court.

How a Jury Can Impact a Trial

A jury is a group of 12 individuals from the community who come to the case without any previous knowledge or awareness of it, who are hearing evidence in the case for the first time, and who do not know any of the parties involved, including the attorneys, judge, or defendant. In that circumstance, there are 12 individuals who are hearing the case in 12 different ways through their individual lenses. How they think about or feel about the case, how they hear the evidence, and how they discussed the evidence among themselves for the conclusion of the trial can have a significant impact on the case. Ultimately, outsiders learn very little about how juries decide a case because their deliberations in the jury room are always kept private.

Proven Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Each element of a case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and all 12 jurors must agree with each other that it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt before someone can be found guilty. There is no preponderance of evidence standard in criminal jury trials.

If you have any questions about jury trials in Mecklenburg County robbery cases, reach out to an accomplished lawyer today.