Juries

• • Juries have been used in the legal system for over 1,000 years. The independence of the jury has become even more firmly established following Bushell’s Case (1670)
• Qualifications

  • Aged 18-70
  • registered on the electoral registrars
  • Resident in the UK for 5 years or more ( since age 13)
• A person cannot serve on jury for 10 years following a

  • suspended sentence
  • community order
  • any time in prison ( up to 5 years)
• Anyone can defer their jury service for up to 12 month. must be a good reason

  • exams
  • operations
  • pre booked holiday
• An excusal means a person doesn’t not need to do their jury service if they couldn’t mange a trial (insufficient understanding of english)
• Juries can be disqualified for life if they have been sentenced to

  • 5 + years in prison
  • extended sentence
  • life imprisonment
  • on bail
• Selection

  • jurors are selected at random by central summoning bureau
  • a summons letter I’ll be reviewed by post informing person they must attend for jury service on a given date
  • at court 15 people are randomly selected from assembly room. 12 are then chosen
• Challenged

  For cause : an individual juror is challenged for a cause/reason (known to witness or D or connected to case as in Wilson and Sprason)

  To the array: whole jury is unrepresentative ( Romford jury 9/12 lived on same street

  Prosecution right to stand by : one juror is out to the back as not to be picked ( find it difficult to understand complex nature of case)
• Appointment

  • no formal appointment as such for juries.
  • Once selected they must swear an oath to make their decision fairly and this enables a person to serve
• Role in Criminal Cases

  • Approximately 50000 people are summoned to jury duty each year
  • If juror ignores summons is unavailable through drink or drugs or is absent without good reason they will be prosecuted and fined up to £1000 under Criminal Justice Act 2003
• Role in Criminal Cases (2)

  • Criminal justice act 2003 now allows professions such as police officers lawyers and judges to serve as jurors as long as there is no conflict of interest in the case they serve on.
  • LoEd justice Dyson was the first judge to be picked for jury service under these new rules. The fairness of having police officers serve as jurors has been questioned in cases such as R v Abdroikof
• Role in Criminal Cases - During trial

  • juries work in the crown court as a panel of 12 if D pleads not guilty
  • role of jury is to decide on the facts of the case based on the evidence they are presented with.
  • During the trial the jury listen to evidence an make notes , they listen to the judges summoning up before discussing the case privately
• Role in Criminal Cases - Secrecy

  • Under Contempt of Court Act 1981 anything discusssd amongst the jurors cannot be disclosed
  • They aren’t allowed mobile phones or computers to ensure secrecy and must not search the case online
• Role in Criminal Cases- Verdict

  • Juroes should aim for unanimous verdict of guilty or not guilty but after 2 hours a majority of 11:1 or 10:2 is accepted
  • A foreman is elected to announce verdict in open court and no reason is given
  • Judge cannot change the verdict even if he or she disagrees
• Role in Criminal Cases- Tampering

  S44 Criminal Justice Act 2003 states where there is evidence of jury tampering the trial may be heard by the judge alone

  R v Twomey

  Held : trial was ordered to proceed without a jury. The right to a jury was important but not a fundamental right.
• Role in Civil Cases

  • Rarely judges consisting of 8 members may be asked to sit on a civil matter ( defamation fraud false inprisonment )
  • Rules for using juries are contained in the senior courts act 1981 (High Court) County Courts Act 1984 (County Court) Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (coroner inquests )