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Alabama

Alabama Jury Health

 

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That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has a right to be heard by himself and counsel, or either;  to demand the nature and cause of the accusation;  and to have a copy thereof;  to be confronted by the witnesses against him;  to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor;  to testify in all cases, in his own behalf, if he elects so to do;  and, in all prosecutions by indictment, a speedy, public trial, by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense was committed;  and he shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law;  but the legislature may, by a general law, provide for a change of venue at the instance of the defendant in all prosecutions by indictment, and such change of venue, on application of the defendant, may be heard and determined without the personal presence of the defendant so applying therefor;  provided, that at the time of the application for the change of venue, the defendant is imprisoned in jail or some legal place of confinement.

—Alabama Constitution Declaration of Rights; Article 1, Section 6

That no person shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;  but courts may, for reasons fixed by law, discharge juries from the consideration of any case, and no person shall gain an advantage by reason of such discharge of the jury.

—Alabama Constitution Declaration of Rights; Article 1, Section 9
 

That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

—Alabama Constitution Declaration of Rights; Article 1, Section 11

 

Legal Resources

 

Alabama Jury News

A Madison County prosecutor projects for 2021 that two murder cases "could possibly be set by the end of the year."

The Equal Justice Initiative has won reversal of a death sentence imposed on its client by a non-unanimous jury that was lied to repeatedly by the government. The court instructed the jury not once, but TWICE, that a misdemeanor offense on the accused's record counted as a violent felony for purposes of a qualifying aggravating factor required to deliver a death sentence.

 

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