A criminal jury is usually made up of 12 members, though fewer may sit on cases involving lesser offenses. Criminal juries decide whether the defendant committed the crime as charged. In several southern states, the jury sets punishment, while in most states and at the federal level, it is set by the judge.
Prior to 2020, under most states' laws, verdicts in criminal cases must be unanimous with the exception of Oregon and Louisiana. In Oregon, a 10–2 majority was required for conviction, except for capital crimes which require unanimous verdicts for guilty in any murder case. In Oregon, unlike any other state, a Not Guilty verdict may be reached in any case (murder included) by a vote of 10 to 2 or 11 to 1. Louisiana also did not require unanimous juries in serious felony cases until passage of a state constitutional amendment going into effect for crimes committed on or after January 1, 2019.[82] However, in Ramos v. Louisiana, decided in April 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that felony convictions must be a unanimous vote from the jury, overturning Oregon's and Louisiana's prior allowances for split decisions.[83]