MBE Rules · Criminal Procedure
Jury Size and Unanimity
Ramos v. Louisiana
The rule
Six-member juries are the constitutional floor and must be unanimous; twelve-member juries must also be unanimous for serious offenses in both federal and state court.
In plain English
The Constitution requires that a jury must have at least six members and that all jurors must agree on a verdict, meaning the decision must be unanimous. For serious offenses, a twelve-member jury is also required to reach a unanimous decision in both federal and state courts.
Worked example
In a federal criminal trial for robbery, the jury consists of six members. After deliberation, all six jurors agree on a guilty verdict. This verdict is valid because the jury is both the constitutional minimum size and unanimous.
Memory hook
Six is the minimum, but all must agree!
The trap
Exams may present scenarios where a jury is not unanimous, leading students to mistakenly believe a verdict is valid if the jury size is adequate. Watch for questions that mix jury sizes and verdict requirements.
How examiners test it
This rule often appears in questions about the validity of a jury's verdict, particularly focusing on the size of the jury and whether the verdict was unanimous.
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