IndianaJury Nullification
Indiana's constitution says that in all criminal cases the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts. Jurors take an oath to give a true verdict according to the law and evidence. Court rules set a jury of twelve for murder and the higher levels of felony, and six for any other crime. A court rule says the verdict shall be unanimous.
Overview
Juries in Indiana
Indiana's constitution has a one sentence section on this. In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts. Indiana's jury rules add an oath, taken after selection, to give a true verdict according to the law and evidence.
The pattern instructions point jurors to that section of the constitution and tell them where to look for the law. The Indiana chapter of the guide describes what they say.
The jury rules also set the size of the jury and say the verdict in a criminal case shall be unanimous. How the numbers work, and when the parties can agree to fewer jurors, is in the chapter.
The Indiana chapter
What's in the Guide for Indiana?
Jury selection
When in an Indiana trial jurors first hear about the law and the facts, when the oath is given, and why a possible juror is questioned before hearing either.
What the judge tells you
What the Indiana pattern instructions on law and facts tell jurors, in plain words. The chapter explains them and quotes the constitution and the jury rules.
How the verdict works
How many jurors sit on an Indiana criminal jury for which charges, what the unanimous verdict rule says, and what final instructions have to cover.
Protections and risks
What Indiana's jury rules say about the jury room, from the written instructions each juror keeps to what happens to phones and other devices once deliberations begin.
The law in plain English
The Indiana laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the sections of the constitution on the jury's right to determine the law and the facts, on civil jury trials and on the rights of the accused, with the jury rules on the oath, on the number of jurors and on final instructions.
Official state resources
Links to Indiana's official sources, each one checked. They cover the state code and constitution from the General Assembly, the Judicial Branch's court rules, and the Judicial Branch's page on serving jury duty.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Indiana?
An Indiana jury summons asks you to come to court and, if you are picked, to take the juror's oath and decide a case with the other jurors.
The Indiana Judicial Branch has a page on serving jury duty. It covers reporting, who can serve, and how to ask to be excused.
That page covers serving. What the constitution and the oath each say, how the pattern instructions treat them, and what the jury rules require in the jury room are covered in the Indiana chapter of the guide.
Your Indiana summons
- Sent byThe jury administrator of your county's courts
- It asks you toCome to court and, if you are picked, take the juror's oath and decide a case with the other jurors
- Jury size12 (murder, Class A/B/C felony, Level 1-5 felony), 6 (any other crime)