12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men By Reginald Rose

Reginald Rose

• Inspired by Rose's own experience of jury duty on a manslaughter case in New York City.

• At first, he had been reluctant to serve on a jury, but he wrote, “The moment I walked into the courtroom … and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude changed.”

Summary

Eleven jurors believe the defendant in a capital murder trial is guilty, while one juror stands up courageously for what he believes is justice and tries to persuade the others to his way of thinking.

Jury Deliberation

• Jury selection are held in open court• Deliberations are absolutely secret• Juries are left to themselves, after trial, in a

locked room, guarded by the court, to reach a verdict based only on their judgment of the evidence presented

• Jury never required nor allowed to offer their reasoning in court

• Asked only for their verdict

Amendments V,VI, XIV

• Conveys the importance of the right to a jury trial afforded by Article III of the constitution

• Afforded a trial by “an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed”

• Presumed innocent until proven guilty• Right to counsel • Educates citizens and in the best case, improves their

deliberations as citizens

Background

• The English were among the first to adopt the institution of trial by an impartial jury of one’s peers

• English colonists and America recognized the right

Plot • The jury of twelve “angry men,” were entrusted with the power to

send an uneducated teenaged Puerto Rican, tenement-dwelling boy to the electric chair for killing his father with a switchblade knife

• Jurors are locked into a small, claustrophobic rectangular room on a stifling hot summer day until they come up with a unanimous decision – either guilty or not guilty.

• Examines the twelve men’s deep-seated personal prejudices, perceptual biases and weaknesses, indifference, anger, personalities, unreliable judgments, cultural differences, ignorance and fears, that threaten to taint their decision-making abilities, cause them to ignore the real issues in the case, and potentially lead them to a miscarriage of justice.

References within script

• Clarence Darrow: American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

• El Train: a rapid transit, subway, underground, elevated railway/urban area/high capacity and frequency

• Krushchev: Russian/served as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1953-1964 following the death of Joseph Stalin.

Roles in a trial explained• Bailiff: usually a deputy sheriff or some other law enforcement officer

keeps:-Order, protects the jury from the outside influence and assists the court clerk

• The court clerk is the main administrative assistant to the judge. The clerk:-keeps track of the courtroom of exihibits and other items of evidence-catalogs and takes custody of exihibits and other items of evidence-prepares all written orders of the court (summons and warrants, for ex) as directed by the judge-administers oath to witnesses - calls the jurors for selection

Roles in a trial explained…

Prosecution lawyers: members of the district attorneys office, city’s attorneys office, or state and federal attorney general’s office

Defense lawyers: private attorneys or members of publicly supported organizations (i.e. public defenders office) they must defend the accused by showing that the government does not have enough evidence to convict the defendant

Defendant: the person accused of the crime

Criminal Codes • Degrees of Murder – any killing committed with malice

aforethought a. Murder in the first degree: all killings that are premeditatedb. Murder in the second degree: all other killing with malice

aforethought• Manslaughter a. Voluntary manslaughter: all intentional killings committed as a

result of serious provocation or extreme dangerb. Involuntary Manslaughter: all unintentional killings that are the

direct result of committing:1. any dangerous and unlawful act or2. any lawful act in an extremely careless or negligent manner

Background of Thomas Carter

• Prior arrests/convictions: one arrest for disturbing the peace. The charges were subsequently dropped. At the age of 17, Carter was cited for reckless driving, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months.

• Employment: employed full time as an assistant manager of a parts department of a local auto dealership. Held his currant position for nearly 6 months after having worked there part time during high school. Currant income is $26,000 a year

• School record: Carter was an average student throughout high school. Because of poor attendance he completed some credits for grad. At a continuation H.S. He was suspended twice, once for fighting, once for truancy. Recently he completed a special three wk course offered by Ford motor company in parts management before qualifying for his present job

• Residence: Carter’s dad died when he was 5. he lives at home with his mother, sister, and younger cousin. He makes a monthly contributions for rent, utilities, food, and maintenance.

General Trial Proceedings

Most trials have five stages: Stage 1 Jury SelectionThe judge and attorneys question the jurors sent to the courtroom until a panel of twelve is agreed upon by all sides. The questioning is designed to excuse jurors who might have difficulty in rendering a fair and impartial verdict in that particular case. Stage 2Opening StatementsThese are brief statements made by the attorneys to the jury in which the attorneys outline the facts as they see them and what they hope to prove. The attorneys are not considered witnesses and their statements are not evidence. The plaintiff's attorney in a civil case or the prosecutor in a criminal case gives the first statement and the defense attorney follows.

• Stage 3Presentation of EvidenceWitnesses for the plaintiff in a civil case or for the prosecution in a criminal case testify first, witnesses for the defense testify next and any rebuttal witnesses testify last. Each witness is sworn to tell the truth. The attorney who calls the witness asks questions in direct examination. The attorney for the opposing side then questions the witness in cross-examination. The purpose of this questioning is to elicit evidence. Exhibits and physical objects such as photographs and x-rays are also presented at this time as evidence. Stage 4Closing Arguments This is the final opportunity for the attorneys to address the jury. The plaintiff's attorney in a civil case or the prosecutor in a criminal case proceeds first. The attorney analyzes the evidence and attempts to convince the jury to decide in favor of his or her side of the case. The defense attorney follows with his or her argument, attempting to do the same. Finally, the plaintiff's attorney or prosecutor has the opportunity to present a rebuttal to the defense attorney's argument. Stage 5Jury DeliberationsThe judge instructs the jury on the law they must apply in the particular case. Jurors then retire from the courtroom to deliberate in secret. When the jurors reach a verdict, the jury foreman who is elected by fellow jurors informs the deputy sheriff that a decision has been reached. The jury returns to the courtroom and the verdict is read aloud to the parties.

• Stage 3Presentation of EvidenceWitnesses for the plaintiff in a civil case or for the prosecution in a criminal case testify first, witnesses for the defense testify next and any rebuttal witnesses testify last. Each witness is sworn to tell the truth. The attorney who calls the witness asks questions in direct examination. The attorney for the opposing side then questions the witness in cross-examination. The purpose of this questioning is to elicit evidence. Exhibits and physical objects such as photographs and x-rays are also presented at this time as evidence. Stage 4Closing Arguments This is the final opportunity for the attorneys to address the jury. The plaintiff's attorney in a civil case or the prosecutor in a criminal case proceeds first. The attorney analyzes the evidence and attempts to convince the jury to decide in favor of his or her side of the case. The defense attorney follows with his or her argument, attempting to do the same. Finally, the plaintiff's attorney or prosecutor has the opportunity to present a rebuttal to the defense attorney's argument. Stage 5Jury DeliberationsThe judge instructs the jury on the law they must apply in the particular case. Jurors then retire from the courtroom to deliberate in secret. When the jurors reach a verdict, the jury foreman who is elected by fellow jurors informs the deputy sheriff that a decision has been reached. The jury returns to the courtroom and the verdict is read aloud to the parties.

For a Defendant• Crime is committed• Police begin investigation• Suspect identified• Suspect arrested• County attorney charges suspect with a crime• Suspect appears in court for arraignment• Public defender appointed• Challenges to violation of the Constitution• Probable cause hearing• Trial • Sentencing

Why so many steps in legal process?

Death Penalty

• States w/o :AlaskaHawaiiIowaMaineMassachusettsMichiganMinnesota

New JerseyNew YorkNorth DakotaRhode IslandVermontWest VirginiaWisconsinDistrict of Columbia

Timeline of Death Penalty

• 18th century BC – established death penalty• 1608 – First recorded execution in colonies• 1632 - First woman executed in new colonies• Early 1800s – states reduce # of capital crimes

and build more penitentiaries• 1846 – Michigan becomes the 1st state to

abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason

• 1930s – Executions reach the highest levels in American history – avg. 167 per year

• 1972 – Furman v. Georgia – Supreme Crt voids 40 death penalty statutes and suspends death penalty.

• 2005 – Roper v. Simmons: U.S. Supreme Crt rules that death penalty for those under 18 years of age (at time of crime) is cruel and unusual punishment.

DNA• DNA can lock someone in jail or set him free. • The first criminal justice application proved a confessed

murderer innocent. • 1996 - a suspect in the 1986 rape-murder of two girls in

Leicester, England, confessed to only one murder.• In an attempt to prove the suspect killed both girls, police

contacted Sir Alex Jeffreys, asking him to match the suspect's DNA to genetic material from the crime scene.

• They did not match, and police later arrested another man.• The first conviction based on DNA evidence came in the 1987

rape trial of Tommy Lee Andrews in Orange County, Florida.

The 1950s

Men’s hair was short and slicked back. They wore conservative dark-toned suits. Following WW2, there was a shortage of fabric, so men’s vests were not in style.

• Age of Consensus – emphasis on being uniform as a culture/shared experiences

• American society was experiencing unprecedented wealth

• Becoming a materialistic society – post WWII era

• Home ownership• Consumerism• Strong association between wealth and

success

• Emphasis on marriage and family – 92% of adult Americans were married or had been

• Lowest average age of marriage since Civil War

Children in the 50s

• Spock’s book on creating the perfect child was published

• Emergence of youth market – The Rise of the Teenager/before 1950s, teenagers had no identity

America in Transition

• Exclusive definition of normal– heterosexual, Caucasian, Christian, Middle Class

• Americans were very conservative and distrusted anything that was different/pressure to conform was strong

• Emergence of counterculture – Feminist Movement, Political radicals, Civil Rights

Crime

• Demise of horseback patrols – late 1940s• Emergence of automobile/Era of Commuter Traffic– “Traffic congestion on summer weekends has reached

the saturation point . . .”– Driving while Intoxicated

• 1963 – law was passed allowing securing of blood, breath or urine for blood content level analysis.

• Concealed identity cars and radar for traffic enforcement• Helicopters to observed heavy traffic conditions• Patrol cars became black and white with flashing lights and

sirens

Organized Crime

• First Criminal Intelligence Unit created – 26 members

• Illegal drug trafficking – State Police created a separate section on narcotics– 17 “pushers” and 4 distributors arrested in New

York City• Major concern: heroin