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Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficulty faced by prosecutors; witness protection programs were one response to this problem.
Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial. The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential jurors to ensure they will not be selected for duty.
Jury instructions, also known as charges or directions, are a set of legal guidelines given by a judge to a jury in a court of law. They are an important procedural step in a trial by jury , and as such are a cornerstone of criminal process in many common law countries .
A distinct feature of English common law historically was the role of the jury as a finder of fact, as opposed to the role of the judge as finder of law. [6] The creation of modern jury trials in the 16th and 17th centuries necessitated rules of evidence to regulate what testimony and other evidence could be put before the jury. [7]
In 1982, in response to concerns that the obstruction law did not provide adequate protection to crime victims and other witnesses, Congress broadened the law against witness tampering and criminalized retaliation against witnesses, as part of the Victim and Witness Protection Act.
A Florida woman who sued her former employer for firing her while reporting to jury duty is breathing easier after a court ruling earlier this week found she was discharged illegally.
Florida, which initially approved the six-person set-up. That "revolutionary" ruling, Gorsuch said, was "an embarrassing mistake" that "turned its back on the original meaning of the Constitution ...
A jury nullification advocacy group estimates that 3–4% of all jury trials involve nullification, [10] and a recent rise in hung juries (from an average of 5% to nearly 20% in some locales) is seen by some as indirect evidence that juries have begun to consider the validity or fairness of the laws themselves (though other reasons such as the ...