the basics on juries

• Trial by jury takes place in the crown court for all indictable, and some triable either way offences.
• Jury service is a civic duty and if someone receives a summons they have a legal obligation to attend court on the listed date, failure to do so may result in prosecution.
• A jury is made up of 12 jurors who will sit in the crown court to decide the verdict
• The jury will decide issues of fact and determine the innocence or guilt based on the approved evidence in indictable trials in the crown court.
• Juries are encouraged to make a unanimous verdict, where all members agree.
• The criminal law act 1967 allows for a majority verdict to be made, being 11 : 1 or 10 : 2, after at least 2 hours and 15 minutes of deliberation
• The jury must decide the verdict in the case before them, and listen to the evidence presented by the defence and prosecution barristers. Jurors are allowed to make notes throughout the trial, and ask questions through the judge.
• The jury is not legally qualified, thus their decision must be based on the provided facts. in order to assist them, the judge will sum up the case after both cases have presented their evidence.
• To discuss the verdict, the jury will retire to the jury room. the jury room is private, what is discussed in it musnt be revealed to anyone. in the jury room, the jury must go through the evidence to reach a guilty or not guilty verdict. Once the jury has agreed it's verdict, they are called back into the court room where an elected foreman from the jury will be required to deliver the verdict.
• The criteria for appointment is set out in the criminal justice act 2003:

  1. be between 18 and 74 years of age
  2. registered to vote on the electoral register
  3. been a resident in the UK for at least 5 years of being 13 years old
• someone who is disqualified may be:

  1. on bail in criminal proceedings
  2. a person who has been at any time sentenced to life in prison, or a sentence of more than 5 years.
  3. a person who has at anytime in the last ten years served any part of a sentence of imprisonment or had assed on them, a suspended or community sentence.
• a person who is suffering from a mental disorder, and is either a resident in hospital or regularly attends a hospital for treatment is ineligible for jury service.
• People who lack capacity for jury service, and cannot fill their duty:

  1. May not understand English
  2. Many have some sort of disability that affects their suitability such as deaf or blind people
• People who are excused from jury duty will include:

  1. full-time serving armed forces members, they will be excused if their commanding officer certifies that their absence would be 'prejudicial to the efficiency of the service in question'.
  2. Any other person who doesnt wish to do jury service, they must apply and show that they have a good reason for why they shouldnt serve. the discretion for this rests with the jury central summoning bureau
• The test to be applied should their be a lawyer or police officer on the jury is that:

  • "whether the fair minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was biased."
• What is the significance of the case of hanif v United kingdom?

  It was shown that having a police officer on the jury was a breach of the European convention on human rights, specifically article 6 being a right to a fair trial.
• What did Lord Woolf Say about judges being summoned for jury duty?

  He pointed out that they should serve as it is their civic duty, and serve as it is their civic duty, and they will be excused in extreme they will be excused in extreme circumstances.
• Each crown court has an official who is responsible for ensuring that enough jurors are summed for cases being head in a two week period. The names will be selected at random from the electoral register in the area. the people who are summoned must notify the court if there is any reason why they cant serve.
• what are the 3 reasons a jury can be challenged?

  To the array

  For cause

  The prosecution's right to stand by
• What does it mean to challenge the array of the jury?

  This is a challenge to the whole jury on the basis that it has been chosen in unrepresentative or biased way.
• What is the significance of the case of r v Ford?

  In this case, it was decided that if the jury is randomly selected then it should not be challenged for not being multiracial.
• What is the significance of the case of r v Fraser?

  It is an example of a case of where the defendant was of a black or minority ethnic background, but all thejurors were white.
• what does it mean that a jury was challenged for the cause?

  A jury is being challenged because a juror is disqualified or knows the witnesses
• Empanelling a jury goes like this:

  1. The members of the jury will be randomly selected from the electoral register by the jury selection bureau
  2. the selected people report to court and are place din a jury pool
  3. 12 members are called to a specific case
  4. if there are no challenges, each member is sworn in