Why jury of 6 in zimmerman case

About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. Hot Property. Times Events. Times Store. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options. Rozelle said even if the jury pool is ethnically diverse, a smaller panel lessens the likelihood of having other kinds of diversity. Rozelle said if every juror on any panel has the same background, the same life experiences, and are the same demographic, they are likely going to view the facts the same. They may not see an alternative perspective because it simply didn't occur to them and they have no one to point it out, she said.

In some cases, the law professor said, "everyone agrees what the facts are, but they disagree bitterly on what those facts mean. If the trial is about truth seeking, it helps to have all possible interpretations of those facts considered. In the days since Zimmerman was acquitted, the Seminole County jurors who found him not guilty have faced sharp criticism from legal observers and others.

Some have questioned why there were no blacks on the jury because there were several in the pool that was culled from several hundred to 40 after a week of jury selection.

After one juror, known only as B, spoke out on CNN last week, saying race was not a consideration in deliberations, some critics said the homogeny of the panel led to a lack of empathy for the dead teenager. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox?

In addition to added diversity and range of experience, member juries are more likely to deadlock, or "hang," than smaller panels, some experts say. But researchers say further studies need to be conducted to determine other differences between six- and member juries. Summers noted that jurors only have to come back with a simple guilty or not guilty verdict.

They do not need to explain why or how they reached that conclusion. And that poses a significant question, he says. The jurors declined to speak after the verdict was announced, according to a court official. A glimpse of the women - five of whom are white and one of whom is Hispanic - who reached the verdict in the racially fraught case follows.

Juror B29 was the sole Hispanic member on the jury panel. Juror B37 is a mother of two who grew up in a military family and used to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Juror B76 is active in pet rescue and is the mother of two grown children.