Calling it a “marvelous day” when the Louisiana Legislature agreed to send to voters a measure requiring a unanimous jury verdict for a felony conviction, former Grant Parish District Attorney Ed Tarpley says work still must be done if it’s going to pass during the November election.
“Most people believe we have the law the other states have. Most people get their legal education from CSI,” Tarpley said at Monday’s Press Club luncheon.
The current law—requiring 10 guilty votes on a 12-person jury for a conviction—dates back to 1880, 15 years after the Civil War ended and three years after the Reconstruction period. Earlier this year, it was reported that 40% of jury trials in Louisiana end in a split jury verdict.
“I have said this law hangs like a cloud over the criminal justice system in our state. It not only influences who is prosecuted, it influences how people are defended. It influences the entire criminal justice system,” Tarpley says.
The law is a break from mainstream legal tradition in the country. Louisiana is one of two states that allows for a felony conviction on a split-jury vote.
“We have to educate and inform the voting public. The history is important. How we got this law is important. The fact that this law came from the Jim Crow era is important,” Tarpley said. “Once you know the history of the law, you have to vote to appeal it.”
Oregon, with a similar law, requires 11 guilty votes for a conviction. It’s a law many people in the state aren’t aware of—including attorneys who don’t specialize in criminal law or jurors until they serve on a trial, according to Tarpley.
There are no known campaigns fighting against the before the November elections. If passed, the amendment would only affect those convicted after Jan. 1, 2019.
