1A - Criminal Courts and Lay People 2

Question 1

Magistrates

Answer 1

• bench consists of 2 wingers and 1 chairman - they are advised on points of law by a legal advisor
• 700 new lay magistrates are appointed annually

Question 2

Lay Magistrates: Role

Answer 2

• deal with all summary cases (some triable either way)
• deal with all preliminary work (plead, bail, decide the sentence)
• deal with first-hand hearing of indictable cases but transfer these to the crown court for trial
• sit at the youth court

Question 3

Lay Magistrates: Qualification and qualities

Answer 3

• no qualifications needed
• 6 key qualities decided by the Lord Chancellor 1998
  (1) good character
  (2) understanding and communication
  (3) social awareness
  (4) maturity and sound temperament
  (5) sound judgment
  (6) commitment and reliability

Question 4

Lay Magistrates: other restrictions

Answer 4

• age (must be 18-65) can sit until 70 years
• expected to live and work close to the local justice area to which they are allocated
• expected to sit at least 26 half days per year
• they are unpaid - expenses only
• people with serious criminal offences, police officers, traffic wardens, undischarged bankrupts cannot sit

Question 5

Magistrates: selection and appointment

Answer 5

• adverts (busses, newspapers, etc) - magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of the local advisory committees - applicant must complete an application form, then get interviewed twice
• at the second interview there will be a discussion of cases you may need to deal with - background checks to check eligibility and ensure a ‘balanced bench’ - the legal authority committee submits its recommendation to the Lord Chancellor - the applicant is sworn in at a special ceremony

Question 6

Jurors

Answer 6

• decide verdict in Crown Court trials (approx 2%)
• hear indictable and some triable either way offences
• sit as a jury of 12 people
• do not give a sentence
• jurors can be nobbled (threatened)
• jurors must reply - if they ignore their summons they could be fined up to £1000
• jurors are expected to sit for two weeks (10 working days)

Question 7

Jurors: what does the clerk do?

Answer 7

the clerk will take 15 potential jurors into the courtroom for extra randomness and in case they are challenged

Question 8

Jurors: what does ‘voir dire’ mean?

Answer 8

the jury may be asked to leave the courtroom whilst advocates argue points of law

Question 9

Jurors: what happens at the end of each case?

Answer 9

At the end of each case the judge will sum up the evidence and explain the points of law to ensure they know what the legal points are

Question 10

Jurors: judge doesn’t like the decision

Answer 10

He cannot change the jurors mind - Bushell’s case

Question 11

Jurors: at the end of each case

Answer 11

the jury goes to a private room to discuss their verdict, the jurors are not allowed to discuss the case with anyone else - s.8 Contempt of Court Act 1981

Question 12

Jurors: unanimous decision

Answer 12

if the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision then the judge can accept a majority verdict of 10:2

Question 13

Jury selection

Answer 13

• minimum age is 18, maximum age is 75
• their name must be on the electoral register
• Crown Court summons officer selects jurors randomly through the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. About 150 people are summoned just in case any are disqualifies, excused etc

Question 14

Jury vetting and checks

Answer 14

Prosecution and defence will vet the list of juror - ie. check suitability for jury service

• Police checks - all jurors have a criminal record checks - R v Mason
• Wider background checks - eg. checking political affiliations

Question 15

Challenge the array

Answer 15

Prosecution or defence can challenge the jury s.5 Juries Act 1974 on the basis that they have been chosen in an unrepresentative or biased way
Romford Jury Trial
R v Ford

Question 16

Challenge for cause

Answer 16

Prosecution and defence can challenge individual jury member

R v Wilson

Question 17

Asking the juror to stand by

Answer 17

This challenge can be used by the prosecution only. P may ask a juror to ‘stand by’, without giving a reason

Question 18

Advantages of jury trial

Answer 18

+ public confidence - democratic society, right to be tried against peers (differences in opinion)
+ open justice system - members of the public are playing a key role in the justices system, law is easier to understand as points must be explained to another juror, in turn, makes it fairer for the defendant (legal jargon)
+ jury equity - they are not bound by precedent and do not have to give a reason for their verdicts and therefore can decide their judgments fairly
Bushell - judge forced jury to change their decision)

Question 19

Disadvantages of jury trial

Answer 19

• media influence - media coverage may influence the jurors. Especially true in high profile cases where there has been a lot of publicity about police investigated into a case
• secrecy - there is no way of knowing if the jury understood the case and came to the decision for the right reasons (R v Young - made a decision through Ouija board)
• jury tampering - in a few cases (R v Twormey and others), friends of the D have tried to interfere with the jury, now under s.44 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, where there has been an effort to tamper the ruling can be decided by the judge alone