Ask a question. Glossary Sequestration Related Content. A court-ordered seizure of property used to compel the personal appearance of a nonresident property owner in a lawsuit brought against that owner in a court of equity. For a court to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident by sequestering the nonresident's property located in the forum state, the nonresident must have sufficient minimum contacts with the state so that the exercise of jurisdiction comports with due process Shaffer v.
Heitner , U. Sentencing on Unconvicted Conduct When a judge enhances the sentence of a convicted person based on conduct of which they were never convicted known as unconvicted conduct , usually because they were never even criminally charged and tried for it, this is known as sentencing on unconvicted conduct.
Sequester, Sequestration When a judge sequesters a jury a process known as sequestration , the jury is isolated from the public to prevent jurors from coming into contact with members or products of the media, other people interested in the trial, etc. In most cases, jurors go home at the end of each day and return in the morning. They are typically asked not to do any research on the case or discuss it with others, but otherwise are relatively free to live their lives normally outside of the trial.
Sequestered jurors, however, are typically housed in controlled conditions, such as at a hotel with limited access to news sources and other outside influences. They may be subject to many other controls such as monitoring of their communications, control of their entertainment, eating together as a group isolated from others, and so on.
Publicity surrounding a high profile case as well as harassment, threats, bribes, etc. These or other concerns may lead judges to sequester juries. However, the act of sequestration can itself also be prejudicial by subtly planting the idea in jurors' minds that they require protection because the accused is guilty.
Sequestration may also contribute to the phenomenon of "groupthink", where jurors spend so much time together that the desire for group harmony stifles individuals' ability to engage in independent thought and judgment.
Special Verdict When a jury delivers a special verdict, it reports its specific findings on specific factual questions, without necessarily issuing a judgment on which party prevails.
Contrast this with a general verdict. Stacking Charges, Stack Charges When a prosecutor inflates the number and severity of charges against an accused individual, this is often referred to as "stacking charges" or "charge-stacking". The idea behind stacking charges is not an attempt to secure a reasonable penalty for criminal activity, but rather to inflate the potential penalty at risk to intimidate the accused into pleading guilty.
Prosecutors who stack charges have significant leverage with which to bully defendants because the more charges that are on the table, the longer and more severe the penalty an accused person risks if they turn down a plea bargain. This practice of stacking charges has led even innocent people to plead guilty, fearing that if they lose in a trial by jury , they will be subject to drastically more harsh punishment in the form of what is known as the trial tax.
The standard of proof varies in different legal situations and is specified by law. Standards of proof have qualitative definitions that can be somewhat fuzzy or debatable, though it is widely agreed which such standards are more or less serious than which other standards. To improve ventilation: Open windows and doors for a few minutes at a time during the day as weather permits and provided this does not pose a safety risk; Run the heating, ventilation and air conditioning HVAC fan continuously at a low speed to increase air movement and filtration; Adjust building ventilation systems and air conditioning units to keep rooms cool rather than using powerful portable cooling fans that might increase the spread of COVID; Limit the use of demand-controlled ventilation; keep the system running at the optimal setting; Increase filtration efficiency to the highest level appropriate for the ventilation system.
Consult an experienced professional before using these devices. Install barriers or shielding, such as Plexiglas dividers, for example: Between seating spaces in the jury room; Between seating spaces in vehicles used for jury transportation. Conduct health screening of jurors, other court users and court personnel upon their arrival at the court facility. Train designated personnel on how to conduct proper health screening. Wherever possible and subject to applicable legislation, collect basic information on all persons who enter the court facility, to support contact tracing efforts by the local public health authority as needed.
Include basic health and safety guidance, and information on what to do if feeling ill, in directions to jury upon the commencement of their deliberations. Train jury support personnel to guide and assist with any issues related to health and safety, including safe isolation and care for any juror who becomes ill. Reinforce to jurors the need to frequently wash hands, especially before entering or re-entering the jury room, before and after meals, and after coming into contact with common surfaces.
Encourage regular breaks in jury deliberation to allow for frequent hand washing. Establish movement protocols to govern routine processes such as arrival and seating for transportation, and entry and exit from the courthouse and jury room.
Consider implementing electronic substitutes for the handling of physical material for example, inspection of evidence or exhibits, and transmission of jury questions.
Consider eliminating or minimizing juror contact with evidence and exhibits by designating a court official with responsibility for displaying these materials to jurors on request. Minimize the extent to which jurors are required to share materials by providing them with individual packages on key trial information, directions, and exhibits.
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