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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What important facts are revealed about the circumstances of the defendant's life by the juror who votes "not guilty" in the first round of voting?
(a) He has been in and out of prison for stealing cars.
(b) He has had a difficult life in a ghetto without a father.
(c) He has had a difficult life in a ghetto; his mother is dead and his father has beaten him regularly.
(d) He is an orphan and member of a minority group.

2. What is the reaction of the jury when the dissenting juror discredits the allegation that the weapon is unique?
(a) They are enlightened.
(b) They are astonished and one says that it is illegal to purchase such things.
(c) They begin to fight him.
(d) They claim he is a criminal just like the defendant.

3. According to one witness, where in the apartment building did the murder occur?
(a) Upstairs.
(b) Downstairs.
(c) On the landing.
(d) On the staircase.

4. Why is it clear from the dissenting juror's action that anyone could have had a weapon similar to the murder weapon?
(a) He purchased it for $10 from a hunting shop nearby.
(b) He found it on the street.
(c) He borrowed it from a policeman who said they confiscate them from schoolboys all the time.
(d) He purchased it for $2.00 from a shop near the defendant's house.

5. After the knife discussion, how do the other jurors pressure the dissenting juror to make him change his vote?
(a) They suggest that he is inferior because he is from the ghetto.
(b) They say he is the only one and they will return a "hung jury" verdict.
(c) They suggest that he is not intelligent enough to understand the evidence.
(d) They suggest that he is on the side of law breakers.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the defendant account for the fact that after the murder he does not have the weapon he bought?

2. What important information casts doubts on the eyewitness' story in the first discussion of the evidence?

3. Why is the murder weapon jammed into the wall?

4. What is the defendant's alibi?

5. What does the verdict from the second vote among jurors prove?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the jurors take a vote before any discussion of the evidence, and what is the impact of the outcome?

2. What assumptions do the jurors make about Juror Eight's vote, and how do they decide to respond?

3. What are the physical and personal concerns facing the jurors as they begin their deliberations?

4. How does Juror Eight respond to the evidence that Juror Three presents about the knife, and what dramatic turn of events does this cause?

5. When Juror Two states that the defendant is guilty because no one proved his innocence, the writer uses the opportunity to establish two important principles of due process. What are these principles and why does the writer have Juror Eight explain them?

6. What important instructions does the judge give to the jurors as they depart to deliberate on the case?

7. What is the defendant's alibi and how does Juror Four respond to it?

8. What additional evidence that incriminates the defendant does Juror Three present to the jury in Act I?

9. What views do the jurors have about the defendant's background?

10. On what point do Juror Eight and Juror Four agree concerning the performance of the defendant's lawyer? How do they differ?

(see the answer keys)

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