The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law.” The Sixth Amendment goes on to preserve other rights for criminal defendants, but says nothing else about what a “trial by an impartial jury” entails.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial—which also applies to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment—requires a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense in state or federal court. A serious offense is generally a felony offense, or a misdemeanor in which the defendant may be sentenced to a year or more in jail or prison.

In Idaho, as in all states, the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in criminal prosecutions. This right is extended to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this right to require a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense, which typically includes felonies or misdemeanors that carry a potential sentence of a year or more in jail or prison. Idaho state law aligns with this interpretation, ensuring that for serious offenses, a jury must reach a unanimous decision to convict. This means that in Idaho, as per federal law and the Supreme Court's rulings, a defendant facing serious criminal charges has the constitutional right to be tried by an impartial jury, and any conviction must be the result of a unanimous jury verdict.