On June 1, 2015, civil juries will change in size from 12 members to six. The change in jury size, mandated by Pub. Act 98-1132, has led to two interesting discussions - whether a six-person jury requires new litigation strategies and whether the change in jury size is constitutional.
"We've had a 12-person jury going back to 1818, when Illinois was admitted to the Union," says Robert T. Park of Moline. Article I, Section 13 of the Illinois State Constitution states that "the right of trial by jury as heretofore enjoyed shall remain inviolate." Park wonders whether cutting jury sizes in half after almost 200 years "harms or changes" the right to trial by jury.
But Chicago personal injury lawyer Joseph A. Power says that the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in Wright v. Central Du Page Hospital Ass'n found that as long as the essentials of a right to trial by jury are not undermined, legislators can shape the contours. Find out more from Matthew Hector's article in the March Illinois Bar Journal.