Qualification/Selection Juries Essay Model Answer

• Jury service is a public duty and has been used in the English Legal System for over 1000 years. Usually, 12 jurors sit in the Crown Court and hear all indictable and some triable-either-way offences when the defendant has pleaded guilty.
• S.1 of the Juries Act 1974 establishes that people eligible for jury service must have three basic qualifications; be aged between 18-75 years old (amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2015), on the electoral register and have lived in the UK for at least 5 consecutive years since the age of 13.
• There is limited criteria for people who are not eligible for jury service. A person summoned is disqualified if currently on bail, has certain mental health problems or if a judge considers they are not able to carry out duties because of a physical disability (under s9B of the Juries Act 1974; deaf or blind) or under s10 where there is an insufficient understanding of English.
• Permanent disqualification will occur for those who have been sentenced to life imprisonment, or have served a prison sentence of 5 years or more. Whereas there will be temporary disqualification (10 years) for those who have served any prison sentence in the last 10 years, received a suspended sentence or received a community service order.
• Where it is difficult for people to preform their jury service, due to impending exams. a pre-booked holiday, pregnant or a hospital appointment, they may ask for their period of service to be deferred to a later date within the next 12 months. Only in extreme circumstances, should a person be excused from jury service e.g. if they've performed jury service in the past 2 years, served on a distressing case (Soham Murders Trial) or are full-time members of the armed forces.
• The selection of juries' procedure involves the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB) randomly selecting names by a computer from the electoral register. A jury summons is sent out with details of time and date a person is required to attend court. The summons must be completed and returned to the JCSB within 7 days.
• Vetting occurs to check jurors before they can sit on a particular case. A list of potential jurors is made available to the prosecution and the defence who can remove unsuitable jurors. This can be done throughn routine police checks to ensure no one has a criminal record. Wider background check on a juror's social beliefs and political affiliations may occur in rare cases (Terrorism and National Security) but the Att-General's express permission must be given.
• Those summoned wait in the jury waiting area until a court official calls 15 jurors who will be allocated to a court. Selection in court will then take place. As per s.11 of the Juries Act 1974, the court clerk will randomly select the names of 12 by ballot in open court - these people will form the jury.