Patton v. United States 281 U.S. 276 (1930)

• Author: David Gordon
• Pages: 1887

Page 1887

In this case a unanimous Supreme Court, speaking through Justice GEORGE SUTHERLAND, held that the constitutional right to a jury in a federal court included exactly twelve members who were to render a unanimous verdict. (See JURY SIZE; JURY UNANIMITY.) Sutherland also declared that a defendant might waive his right to a jury or consent to a jury of less than twelve. Forty years later, in WILLIAMS V. FLORIDA (1970), a case involving a state court, the Court held that fixing the number of required jurors at twelve was a "historical accident" and "cannot be regarded as an indispensable component of the Sixth Amendment."

DAVID GORDON

(1986)

(SEE ALSO: Waiver of Constitutional Rights...