WyomingJury Nullification
Wyoming's constitution says that in libel trials the jury has the right to determine the facts and the law, under direction of the court. The pattern instructions published by the Wyoming State Bar give the law to the court and the facts to the jury. A statute says that in all criminal cases the verdict shall be unanimous. The constitution allows juries of fewer than twelve, but not fewer than six, in misdemeanor cases.
Overview
Juries in Wyoming
Wyoming's pattern criminal instructions divide the work before the trial begins. Stating the law belongs to the court, and weighing the evidence and deciding the facts belongs to the jury. A state statute says that in all criminal cases the verdict shall be unanimous.
The Wyoming constitution speaks to the jury and the law in its section on speech. In all trials for libel, the jury has the right to determine the facts and the law, under direction of the court. What that section covers is in the Wyoming chapter of the guide.
Wyoming law also controls how a judge's charge reaches the jury. It sets when the charge is given, when it has to be in writing, and one thing a judge may not do with a written charge. What that is, is in the chapter.
The Wyoming chapter
What's in the Guide for Wyoming?
Jury selection
The order of a Wyoming criminal trial as state law sets it out, when the judge charges the jury, and what the constitution says about the size of a jury.
What the judge tells you
What the Wyoming pattern instructions say about the court's job and the jury's, in plain words. The Wyoming State Bar publishes them, so the chapter explains them and links to where they can be read.
How the verdict works
What the unanimous verdict statute says, how a Wyoming jury is polled before a verdict is accepted, and what the instructions say about each juror's own opinion.
Protections and risks
What Wyoming law says about using force or threats against a juror, including to get back at one, and what a judge may not do with a written instruction once it is given.
The law in plain English
The Wyoming laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the statute on the order of a trial and the judge's charge, the statute on unanimous verdicts and polling, the law on influencing or intimidating jurors, and two sections of the state constitution.
Official state resources
Links to Wyoming's official sources, each one checked. They cover the statutes and constitution on the legislature's site, the Judicial Branch's court rules, the State Bar's pattern jury instructions, and the Judicial Branch's Jury Duty page.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Wyoming?
A Wyoming jury summons asks you to come to court and, if you are picked, to weigh the evidence and decide the facts of a case. The court states the law.
The Wyoming Judicial Branch has a Jury Duty page. It covers reporting, who can serve, and how to ask to be excused.
That page covers serving. What the constitution says about the jury in libel trials, how the judge's charge reaches you, and how a verdict is polled are covered in the Wyoming chapter of the guide.
Your Wyoming summons
- Sent byThe district or circuit court
- Names come fromVoter registrations and driver's licenses
- It asks you toCome to court and, if you are picked, weigh the evidence and decide the facts of a case
- Jury size12 (felony), 6 (misdemeanor)