Lay people

• Lay people


  Someone who makes decisions in the legal process but is not legally qualified
• Lay people in the legal system

  • Juries
  • Magistrates
  • Crown Court
  • Magistrates' Court
• Jury qualifications


  • Aged between 18 and 75 (must be under 76)
  • Registered to vote
  • Resident in the UK for at least 5 years since the age of 13
• Jury disqualification


  • Permanently disqualified: Life imprisonment, Imprisonment for five years or more
  • Disqualified for 10 years: Imprisonment for less than 5 years, Anyone who has been given a Community Order in the last ten years, Had a suspended sentence in the last 10 years
  • Temporarily disqualified: Disqualified if currently on bail
• Jury ineligibility


  • Mentally disordered person is not eligible
  • Deaf person can now sit on a jury
  • Being blind does not automatically make a person ineligible
• Right to be excused from jury service

  The only category of person that can be excused are the full time members of the navy, military or air forces
• Potential reasons to be excused from jury service

  • Being too ill to attend court
  • Death or illness of a close relative
  • Being a mother with a small baby
  • Having an important business meeting or exam
  • Having a holiday that has already been booked
• Discretionary excusal


  The court is likely to defer jury service to a more convenient date rather than excuse the person completely
• Jury service is compulsory and failure to attend is a contempt of court and can result in a fine
• How jurors are chosen

  1. Jurors names are selected at random from the electoral register

  2. Letters are sent to those who have been chosen - 7 days given to respond

  3. Those chosen are expected to attend for two weeks jury service
• Jury selection


  • At the start of the trial 15 jurors are chosen to go into the court room
  • The court clerk will choose 12 at random
  • Jurors are then shown a DVD about their role and how to behave in court
• Vetting of jurors


  1. Prosecution and defence can see the list of jurors to check them for suitability

  2. Routine Police Checks to make sure none of the chosen jury members are disqualified

  3. Wider background checks on jurors' political beliefs (only in cases of national security with permission from the Attorney General)
• Challenging jurors


  • For Cause (challenge on a single juror because they know or are related to the defendant or a witness)
  • To the array (challenge to the whole jury because it is unrepresentative or biased)
  • Prosecution right to stand by an individual juror (putting a juror at the end of the list of potential jurors with no reason given)
• Juries sit on a panel of 12 jurors in a criminal case and make their decision in the jury room
• The jury must reach a unanimous verdict in a criminal case
• Juries


  In criminal cases, 12 jurors sit on a panel to listen to the facts of the case and the judge's summary, then decide the verdict (guilty or not guilty)
• Types of cases juries hear

  • Some triable either way
  • All indictable
• What juries do in criminal cases

  1. Listen to the facts of the case and the judge's summary

  2. Decide the verdict (guilty or not guilty)

  3. Retire to a private room called a jury deliberation room to make the decision in secret

  4. No reason is given for the decision
• Initially a jury must come to a unanimous verdict


  After two hours a majority verdict of 11-1 or 10-2 will be accepted
• Role of the judge in relation to the jury

  • Explain any relevant points of law to the jury
  • Can direct the jury to find the defendant not guilty if not enough evidence has been produced by the prosecution (directed acquittal)
  • Must accept the jury verdict even if the judge does not agree with it
• Advantages of Juries


  • Juries give the public confidence in our legal system
  • Trial by peers is a fundamental part of a democratic society
  • Juries can decide cases on the basis of what they believe is fair (jury equity)
  • Juries are chosen randomly and should therefore represent a good cross-section of society
  • Any prejudices should be cancelled out with 12 jurors
  • Jury members should be impartial
  • Come to a decision in private
• Disadvantages of Juries


  • Some cases may be too complicated for jurors to understand
  • Juries sometimes refuse to follow the law (perverse verdict)
  • No one can inquire into what happened in the jury room
  • Do not have to give reasons for their decision, therefore there is no way of knowing if jury understood case
  • Research shows doubts about 5% of jury convictions
  • There is no requirement that a jury must be multi-racial, prejudices may still exist
  • Media coverage may influence jurors, especially in high profile cases
  • Juries are often criticised on the grounds that they acquit too many defendants
  • The compulsory nature of juries is unpopular
  • The use of juries makes trials slow and expensive - each point has to be carefully explained to the jury
• Juries


  In criminal cases, 12 jurors sit on a panel to listen to the facts of the case and the judge's summary, then decide the verdict (guilty or not guilty)
• Types of cases juries hear

  • Some triable either way
  • All indictable
• What juries do in criminal cases

  1. Listen to the facts of the case and the judge's summary

  2. Decide the verdict (guilty or not guilty)

  3. Retire to a private room called a jury deliberation room to make the decision in secret

  4. No reason is given for the decision
• Initially a jury must come to a unanimous verdict


  After two hours a majority verdict of 11-1 or 10-2 will be accepted
• Role of the judge in relation to the jury

  • Explain any relevant points of law to the jury
  • Can direct the jury to find the defendant not guilty if not enough evidence has been produced by the prosecution (directed acquittal)
  • Must accept the jury verdict even if the judge does not agree with it
• Funny jury stories


  • The star gazing juror
  • The rude juror
  • The swearing juror
• Advantages of juries


  • Juries give the public confidence in our legal system
  • Trial by peers is a fundamental part of a democratic society
  • Juries can decide cases on the basis of what they believe is fair (jury equity)
  • Juries are chosen randomly and should therefore represent a good cross-section of society
  • Any prejudices should be cancelled out with 12 jurors on the panel
  • Jury members should be impartial
  • Come to a decision in private
• Disadvantages of juries


  • Some cases may be too complicated for jurors to understand
  • Juries sometimes refuse to follow the law (perverse verdict)
  • No one can inquire into what happened in the jury room
  • Do not have to give reasons for their decision, therefore there is no way of knowing if jury understood case
  • Research shows doubts about 5% of jury convictions
  • There is no requirement that a jury must be multi-racial, prejudices may still exist
  • Media coverage may influence jurors, especially in high profile cases
  • Juries are often criticised on the grounds that they acquit too many defendants
  • The compulsory nature of juries is unpopular
  • The use of juries makes trials slow and expensive - each point has to be carefully explained to the jury and this takes longer