Ballew v. Georgia

Citation. Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223, 98 S. Ct. 1029, 55 L. Ed. 2d 234, 3 Media L. Rep. 1979 (U.S. Mar. 21, 1978)

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CitationBallew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223, 98 S. Ct. 1029, 55 L. Ed. 2d 234, 1978 U.S. LEXIS 68, 3 Media L. Rep. 1979 (U.S. Mar. 21, 1978)

Brief Fact Summary. Petitioner was convicted by a fiver person jury.

Synopsis of Rule of Law. “Because of the fundamental importance of the jury trial to the American system of criminal justice, any further reduction [of the number of members on a jury below six] that promotes inaccurate and possibly biased decisionmaking [sic], that causes untoward differences in verdicts, and that prevents juries from truly representing their communities, attains constitutional significance.”

Points of Law - Legal Principles in this Case for Law Students.

At some point, this decline leads to inaccurate factfinding and incorrect application of the common sense of the community to the facts.

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Issue.
“Whether a further reduction in the size of the state criminal jury.