Grand juries were once considered a formality, but that may no longer be the case

Grand juries investigate crimes and decide whether the government has enough evidence to charge someone

Unlike trial juries, which determine guilt, grand juries decide whether there is probable cause to bring charges at all. If they find enough evidence, they issue a formal indictment. Federal grand juries are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

Explore jury nullification, the little-known power that lets jurors ignore the law and acquit anyway

When jurors disagree with a law, they can simply vote to acquit regardless of the evidence; however, this practice is rare, and the legal system actively discourages it. This podcast traces its history from a Quaker prayer meeting in London to the LA riots.

The vast majority of federal criminal cases never reach a jury.

In fiscal year 2022, nearly 90% of federal defendants pleaded guilty, and another 8% had their cases dismissed. This means just 2% went to trial at all, making a trial by jury a rare outcome in the modern federal court system.

A 1986 Supreme Court ruling prohibited race-based jury strikes, but racial imbalance in jury selection persists

Batson v. Kentucky banned prosecutors from excluding jurors on the basis of race, but critics say it backfired. Prosecutors often use race-neutral pretexts to remove potential jurors that judges rarely reject, and some courts have never found a violation of the ruling.

All states did not require a unanimous jury verdict to convict until a 2020 Supreme Court case

In Ramos v. Louisiana, the court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimous jury verdicts to convict in criminal cases, overturning laws in Louisiana and Oregon that had allowed convictions with only 10 of 12 jurors in agreement.

President Trump has changed decades-long norms for the DOJ during his second term

The Trump administration made changes to ethics oversight, instructed US attorneys to coordinate with the White House, dismissed cases, and overhauled the career hiring process in the Civil Rights division. The administration asserts these changes were justified and aimed to end what they claim as the weaponization of government.

Federal juries are selected from voter rolls and driver's license lists

Courts randomly draw prospective jurors from these sources, then mail qualification questionnaires. Those who qualify may be summoned for voir dire, where judges and attorneys question candidates before seating a final jury.

Black Americans were systematically excluded from juries for much of US history

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even explicit laws kept Black Americans off juries until well into the 20th century. The Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 mandated that federal juries reflect a fair cross-section of the community, though racial disparities in jury selection persist.

'Saturday Night Live' parodied the jury selection process in 2025

This "SNL" sketch lampoons the lengths people go to avoid jury duty, with prospective jurors claiming that a Kardashian hit them with a car, that they are from the future and already know the verdict, and that they should be the judge instead.

In the SEC vs. Jarkesy ruling of 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to seek civil penalties for securities fraud in-house, which significantly scaled back the agency's enforcement capabilities.

A Mississippi man was tried six times for the same crime, each time before an all-white or nearly all-white jury

This podcast investigates how prosecutor Doug Evans systematically struck Black jurors across decades of cases. The team built a database of every jury strike Evans made over 20 years, uncovering a racial pattern that was later cited by the Supreme Court when it overturned Curtis Flowers' conviction in 2019.

Early attorneys general worked alone and often kept private law practices.

Go inside a real jury room as 12 Americans deliberate a criminal case.

This PBS "Frontline" documentary from 1986 was the first to film actual jury deliberations on American television, capturing a Wisconsin criminal trial jury wrestling with the evidence and the case's consequences.

The Supreme Court has greatly expanded executive power in recent years

In Trump v. United States, the court ruled that a former president enjoys absolute immunity for "official acts" in his constitutional core powers. In Trump v. CASA, Inc., the court limited federal courts' ability to block executive enforcement through nationwide injunctions—decisions that shifted power toward the executive branch.

A TV show put one unsuspecting man on a fake jury surrounded entirely by actors for three weeks.

In the Amazon comedy "Jury Duty," Ronald Gladden believed he was participating in a documentary about the judicial process, unaware that everyone involved with the entire trial was an actor. In this podcast, Gladden and director Jake Szymanski reflect on the experience.

The early DOJ led the first major federal civil rights prosecutions

During Reconstruction, the newly formed Department of Justice prosecuted Ku Klux Klan violence in the South—securing over 1,000 indictments and more than 500 convictions by 1873 in defense of newly established civil rights protections.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy trial, an impartial jury, and legal counsel

The amendment guarantees robust protections for those accused of crimes. However, states weren't required to provide attorneys for defendants who couldn't afford one until the Supreme Court's 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright ruling—172 years after ratification.

Explore state-level data on juries.

Read the criteria for federal jury selection and the exemptions and excuses that can get you out of it.

Federal jurors must be US citizens, at least 18 years old, proficient in English, and free of felony convictions. Active-duty military, full-time police and firefighters, and certain public officials are fully exempt from service.

The Department of Justice is led by the US attorney general

The attorney general acts as the nation's top law enforcement official—managing all Department of Justice activities, overseeing US attorneys, and advising the president and federal agencies on legal issues that influence policy and enforcement.

In 41 states, older Americans can opt out of jury duty, but not in federal court

As of 2024, 41 states offer age-based exemptions from state jury duty, with opt-out ages ranging from 65 in Mississippi and South Carolina to 80 in five states. None of these exemptions applies to federal court.

Explore the biographies and official portraits of every US attorney general since 1789.

Presidents can be impeached for 'treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors'

The Constitution empowers the House to impeach a president by a majority vote and the Senate to convict by a two-thirds vote. Three presidents—Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (twice)—were impeached, though none were removed from office.

The Supreme Court extended the ban on discriminatory jury strikes to include gender in 1994

In J.E.B. v. Alabama, the court ruled 6-3 that using peremptory challenges to exclude jurors based on sex violates the Equal Protection Clause, building on its 1986 Batson decision banning race-based strikes.

Donald Trump was impeached in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress

The House charged President Trump with pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden while withholding military aid. The Senate acquitted him in February 2020, with only one Republican voting to convict.

Sometimes, an award isn't given for a category

When the Pulitzers decided not to issue a 2021 award for editorial cartooning, it was surprising, but not unheard of. In fact, the same thing happened in 2012, when the Pulitzer board ignored the jury's recommendations for the fiction prize.

The roots of American law and the jury system trace back to medieval England

King Henry II established a jury of 12 local knights to settle land disputes in the 12th century, and his judges developed national laws common to everyone. American courts inherited this "common law" tradition directly from the English system.

The solicitor general argues the federal government's cases before the Supreme Court

Sometimes called the "10th justice," the solicitor general is the DOJ official responsible for representing the United States before the Supreme Court—deciding which cases the government will appeal, filing briefs, and arguing on behalf of federal interests.

See some of the most controversial pardons in presidential history

From Lincoln's selective commutations of Dakota men after an 1862 uprising, to Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon after Watergate, and Bill Clinton's final-day clemency decisions, pardons have long sparked fierce debate over justice, political favoritism, and presidential power.

Trial by jury was an important source of colonial resistance to British rule

Colonial juries refused to convict Americans who violated British trade laws, and Britain's response, stripping away jury rights, became a central grievance of the Revolution. The Declaration of Independence explicitly cited the denial of the right to trial by jury as a charge against King George III.

John Marshall presided over Aaron Burr's 1807 treason trial

During the 1807 trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr, Marshall required proof of an overt act witnessed by two people to sustain a treason charge. His rulings limited executive influence and reinforced constitutional standards for conviction under Article III.

The Department of Justice was formally established in 1870

Passed by Congress in 1870, the Act to Establish the Department of Justice centralized federal legal work under the attorney general, bringing together US attorneys and marshals into a single department.

Many journalists are shying away from sharing mug shots when reporting crime

News outlets used to cover crime with mug shots of the accused. Some outlets even published mug shot photo galleries, collections of easily acquired content that drove clicks and, hopefully, advertising dollars. However, this practice has fallen out of favor as journalists question the lasting impact of immortalizing mug shots of accused perpetrators, at least some of whom are ultimately cleared of the alleged crime.

Immigration courts are part of the DOJ, not the judicial branch

Unlike federal courts, immigration courts operate under the DOJ's Executive Office for Immigration Review—meaning immigration judges are DOJ employees, not independent judicial officers, and their decisions can be reviewed and overturned by the attorney general.

Presidents now rely on executive agreements instead of formal treaties

Formal treaties—requiring two-thirds Senate approval—have become rare in American foreign policy. Modern presidents increasingly use executive agreements, which don't need congressional consent, allowing faster diplomacy but reducing legislative oversight and transparency.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases

Ratified in 1791, this amendment applies to cases where more than $20 is at stake—an amount that has never been adjusted for inflation.

The Fifth Amendment covers a wide range of legal protections for those accused of a crime

While it is widely known for the right against self-incrimination, the Fifth Amendment also protects against being charged for the same crime twice, requires grand jury indictments for serious crimes, and mandates compensation when the government takes private property for public use.

Hip-hop lyrics are often used in criminal trials in a controversial practice that blurs the line between art and evidence.

The 2025-26 Supreme Court docket is poised to reshape presidential power

As the Supreme Court begins a new term, several major cases could define the scope of presidential authority. The court may rule on President Trump's efforts to control state National Guard units, fire independent officials, impose tariffs, and cut congressionally mandated federal spending.

Watergate led to the prosecution of nearly 50 individuals

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly; officials had to disclose finances transparently; and new laws limited conflicts of interest, established independent ethics oversight, and safeguarded presidential records—curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

Hear from the casting director who assembled the entirely fake jury for 'Jury Duty'

Casting director Susie Ferris breaks down how she built the show's ensemble from scratch, from combing through early audition tapes to persuading James Marsden to play a heightened version of himself alongside unknowing juror Ronald Gladden.

Photography and video are prohibited in the Supreme Court—but artists are not

Because cameras are banned inside the Supreme Court of the United States, courtroom artists document proceedings through sketches. This exhibition features works from 1964 to today, capturing the human drama of landmark cases and shaping how Americans visualize justice.

In the US, any court can rule on constitutionality—unlike in most other countries

In the American system, known as diffuse judicial review, federal and state courts at every level may assess whether laws comply with the Constitution, and their decisions are ultimately reviewable by the Supreme Court. Many other democracies, by contrast, reserve constitutional review to specialized constitutional courts.

A court designed to be the least powerful branch of government became one of the most influential institutions in America.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan transformed libel law and the relationship between the press and public officials

The 1964 case arose when an Alabama official sued The New York Times over a civil rights advertisement he claimed was defamatory. The ruling makes it very difficult for public officials to win libel suits against the press unless they can prove deliberate falsehood.

Donald Trump was impeached a second time for incitement of insurrection after Jan. 6

Following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, the House impeached Trump for inciting violence against the US government. The Senate acquitted him on Feb. 13, 2021. He is the only president who has been impeached twice.

A single 1803 Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, gave courts the power to strike down acts of Congress.

Court-packing is the attempt to change the number of Supreme Court justices to shift the balance

Because the Constitution leaves the court's size to Congress, presidents have periodically sought to expand or reshape it. This explainer examines past efforts—including Franklin D. Roosevelt's failed 1937 plan—and why court-packing remains so controversial.

Juror pay varies widely by state, and most employers are not required to cover it.

State court juror pay ranges from nothing in Illinois and South Carolina to $50 per day in six states, with a national average of around $22 per day. Only eight states and DC require employers to provide paid time off during jury service.

True crime content can influence the justice system

The 2014 podcast "Serial" inspired national doubt about the outcome and quality of a 1999 Baltimore murder case, resulting in overturned convictions (that were then reinstated). The series "In the Dark," whose second season pored over the murder trials of a Black Mississippi man, revealed crucial testimony was recanted, provided evidence of racial discrimination in jury selection, and was cited in case filings.