KansasJury Nullification
In Kansas a statute gives questions of law to the court and says issues of fact shall be determined by the jury. State law sets a jury of twelve for a felony and six for a misdemeanor. If any juror disagrees when the verdict is read, the jury must be sent out again.
Overview
Juries in Kansas
Kansas puts the split in a statute on how felony cases are tried. Questions of law go to the court, and issues of fact shall be determined by the jury. State law sets twelve jurors for a felony and six for a misdemeanor.
Kansas gets to a unanimous verdict through what happens in the courtroom. The verdict is written down, signed, read aloud, and the jurors are asked whether it is theirs. If any juror disagrees, the jury must be sent out again. What follows is in the Kansas chapter of the guide.
The Kansas constitution keeps the right of trial by jury in one sentence, and gives the accused a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district. What its section on speech and libel says about juries is in the chapter.
The Kansas chapter
What's in the Guide for Kansas?
Jury selection
How a Kansas judge settles the jury's instructions, when instructions can come before the evidence, and what a misdemeanor defendant has to do within seven days to get a jury at all.
What the judge tells you
The chapter explains the statute that tells a Kansas judge how to instruct, and the jury standards the Supreme Court has adopted.
How the verdict works
How a Kansas verdict is written, signed, read and questioned, when a jury of fewer than twelve can decide a felony, and how a deliberating jury asks the judge a question.
Protections and risks
What Kansas law says about people who interfere with a court case, what the same law says to a juror who promises a verdict or takes in outside information, and who may be in the jury room.
The law in plain English
The Kansas laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the statutes on how felony and misdemeanor cases are tried, on instructing the jury, on the jury's conduct after the case is handed over, on the verdict, and on interference with the judicial process, with three sections of the state constitution.
Official state resources
Links to Kansas's official sources, each one checked. They cover the statutes and constitution, the Supreme Court's rule book with its jury standards, the Judicial Council's listing for the pattern instructions, and the handbook for jurors on the Judicial Branch site.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Kansas?
A Kansas jury summons asks you to come to court and, if you are picked, to determine the issues of fact in a case. A felony jury is twelve people and a misdemeanor jury is six.
A Handbook for Jurors is available on the Kansas Judicial Branch site. It covers what to expect when you are called.
The handbook covers the day itself. How the judge settles your instructions, how a verdict is read back and questioned, and what Kansas law says to jurors and to the people around them are covered in the Kansas chapter of the guide.
Your Kansas summons
- Sent byThe district court of your county
- Names come fromRegistered voters and driver's license holders
- It asks you toCome to court and, if you are picked, determine the issues of fact in a case
- Jury size12 (felony), 6 (misdemeanor)