-
I. Warming-up
Questions:
1.
Try to work
out a list of words or expressions used in a
criminal
court.
2.
Please give a
simple character sketch for each of the jurors.
3.
See the movie
to have a better understanding of the story.
II. Background
1.
American
Court System
The accused is
deemed innocent until and unless proved “guilty
beyond
a reasonable doubt”;
The burden of proof is on the
prosecutor;
In most cases, the verdict
has to be unanimously reached. The majority
of a jury is not sufficient to find a
defendant guilty of a felony;
A
trial
does
not
aim
at
discovering
who
committed
a
particular
crime,
but
rather the innocence or
guilt of the accused;
The system is
valuable, but not infallible and can be quite
precarious.
2. Jury System &
Jurors
Who can be a jury
member?
A jury is made up
of 12 adults.
The jury is chosen at
random from the local Electoral Register.
Jury
service
is
usually
compulsory,
however
there
are
certain
categories
of people who can't be selected
including: Judges, Magistrates,
Solicitors, Barristers, Ministers of
religion, Prisoners, MPs, Members
of
the armed forces, Members of the medical
profession, Police and
probation
officers, Anyone on bail or who has been on
probation within
the
last
five
years,
Anyone
sentenced
to
prison,
detention
centre,
youth
custody or community
service within the last 10 years.
One
may be excused from Jury service if there is a
strong reason why you
are unable to
serve, such as exams or a pre-booked holiday.
How long does jury service last
for?
It lasts for around two
weeks, however, if at the end of this time the
trial is still going, you may be asked
if you are able to stay on. You
can be
a juror for more than one trial during your jury
service.
Who can I talk to about the
trial?
Once
you
are
a
juror you
may
only
discuss
the
trial
in
the
jury
room
when
all
the
jury
are
present.
You
must
not
talk
about
the
trial
to
anyone
who
is not a member of your
jury.
It
is
an
offence
for
anyone
outside
your
jury
to
try
to
influence
you
about
the
case. If anyone approaches you about the case tell
a court official
or police officer at
once.
It is an offence for anyone to
impersonate a juror and to serve on his
or her behalf.
How are
jurors selected for a particular trial?
First,
the
court
clerk
selects
anywhere
from
15
to
35
prospective
jurors
at
random
from
the
larger
jury
pool.
This
smaller
group
of
potential
jurors
is seated in a
courtroom.
Then
the
judge’s clerk or
bailiff places each
person’s
name on a separate slip of paper. All of these
slips are then
placed
in
a
box.
The
clerk
shakes
the
box
vigorously
to
ensure
a
completely
random selection
of names. After the slips are mixed the clerk
begins
drawing names one at a time from
the box. When an appropriate number of
names have been drawn and called, those
potential jurors take an oath.
This
begins the most important step in jury selection,
which is called
“voir dire”.
III New words
Get familiar with the new words and
expressions in Glossary.
Pay attention
to the pronunciation and special usage.
IV Text Analysis
1.
General
introduction
?
Plot:
A
young
delinquent
awaits
sentencing
for
the
manslaughter
of
his aggressive father.
One juror feels there is a
reasonable doubt
—
to the
frustration of his eleven
colleagues
—
thus preventing a
quick verdict. During the
heated
deliberations,
the hidden
preconceptions and prejudices of the jurors are
revealed.
?
Setting: jury room
?
Protagonists:
12 jurors
2.
Theme:
?
The
idea,
that
one
person,
or
a
small
group
of
people,
can
actually
make a significant
difference. It's easy to become disillusioned
by a barrage of facts, supposed facts,
obfuscations, and outright
lies,
whether
in
a
court
or
in
an
election.
But
finding
the
strength
to push
all
these aside
and participate in the process to the
best
of your ability is an important
part of what
Twelve Angry
Men
is
all about.
?
Twelve Angry
Men
is about one individual's ability
to stand up for
what he believes, even
when others ridicule him. It is also a
powerful study not just of the criminal
justice system, but also
of
the
diversity
of
human
experience,
the
nature
of
peer
pressure,
and the difficulty of ever fully
knowing the truth.
Lecture
two (two hours)
3.
Further Discussion
Fill
in
the
blanks,
and
figure
out
which
juror
changes
his
vote
each
time
a vote is called for.
Guilty
1st vote
2nd vote
3rd
vote
Not guilty
No. 8