Ramos v. Louisiana on unanimous juries

Authors

• David Klein, Eastern Michigan University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2021

Department/School

Political Science

Publication Title

SCOTUS 2020

Abstract

There is no question that the Sixth Amendment recognizes the right to “an impartial jury,” and little doubt that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates this right against state governments. But does a jury need to be unanimous in order to convict? Louisiana believes that 10 out of 12 is sufficient for a conviction. Evangelisto Ramos—who was convicted by a nonunanimous jury of the stabbing death of Trenice Fedison in New Orleans—disagrees. In addition to the ramifications for criminal prosecution, the Ramos case places the role of precedent at the forefront to the Court’s deliberations.

Comments

D. Klein is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Political Science.

Recommended Citation

Klein, D. (2021). Ramos v. Louisiana on unanimous juries. In M. Marietta (Ed.), SCOTUS 2020 (pp. 131–140). Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53851-4_12