Reforming Military Juries in the Wake of Ramos v. Louisiana

Abstract

Juries in the military are smaller than civilian practice and may convict by less than unanimous verdicts. Although empirical research has shown larger, unanimous juries perform better by virtually every measure, military courts have not adopted them. They claim that it is inapplicable because the research was conducted on civilians. This Article explains the science supporting large, unanimous juries, courts’ resistance to the science, and addresses the objections courts have raised to jury reforms. It concludes that there is no worthwhile reason to maintain the status quo for military juries.

Keywords: Military, Juries, Unanimous