Trial by Jury is a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution. In this episode of Founding Fundamentals, we focus on the phrase “impartial jury,” also known as a jury of your peers.
Choosing an Impartial Jury
In this lesson, students are asked to select from a list of potential jurors those most likely to be fair and impartial in a trial of Goldilocks v. The Three Bears. Students are prompted to justify why each juror they chose would be impartial, and so gain an understanding of the challenges associated with selecting an impartial jury.
A Conversation on the Right to Trial by an Impartial Jury
Court Shorts: An Impartial Federal Judiciary
This short video from the U.S. Courts focuses on the importance of a fair and impartial judiciary. What does this concept mean to you? In this video, students question federal judges on these principles.
Constitutional Index – Amendment 6 Impartial Jury Clause
The Constitutional Index breaks down the U.S. Constitution by Section, Amendment, and Clause and contains broader topics and themes. These are used to cross-reference Library resources in an effort to annotate constitutional history.
Quiz: Qualifications for Being a Juror
Read the following descriptions in this quiz and decide who should be able to serve on a jury and explain why. After you have recorded your initial impressions, review them with another student. Working together, the class will draft a list of characteristics that they think would qualify someone to serve, then compare them to the actual qualifications.
The Judical Nomination Process
What is the nomination process for Supreme Court justices and federal judges? Find out in a multimedia package of educational resources geared to high school students, their teachers, and interested adults. What do judges promise in the judicial oath of office? What is the role of justices and judges? What kinds of information are nominees asked to share during the nomination process? What do judges, themselves, say about what it means to be impartial?
Court Shorts: Jury Service
Why is jury service important? What is the role of the jury? Jury service is the most direct way of participating in our democracy. In this video, students question federal judges from across the country on the basics of jury service.
Sixth Amendment Activities
Apply landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios related to your right to counsel and your right to a fair trial in the Sixth Amendment.
Juror Experiences
Citizens, who had served on juries, were asked how they would describe the experience from a personal point of view. Read their impressions and insights.