Advantages & Disadvantages of Jury Trial

Question 1

Adv; Public Confidence

Answer 1

• Jury is fundamental to a democratic society.
• The tradition of juries are really old and people seem to have the confidence in impartiality and fairness of a jury trial.

Question 2

Adv; Jury Equity

Answer 2

• Jurors aren’t legal experts so don’t have to follow previous precedents set by judges, therefore, they can come to a decision on fairness.
• Ponting

Question 3

Adv; Open System of Justice

Answer 3

• Use of jury makes legal system open to most people.
• Justice seen to be done as members of the public are involved and the whole process is public.
• Helps to keep the law clearer as points have to be explained to the jury, making it easier for D to understand.

Question 4

Adv; Secrecy of Jury Room

Answer 4

• Jury is free from pressure in its discussion.
• Jurors are protected from outside influences when deciding on the verdict.
• Allows for juries to bring verdicts that may be unpopular with public which allows the jurors freedom to ignore the strict letter of the law.
• People less likely to do jury service if discussions are made public.

Question 5

DisAdv; Secrecy

Answer 5

• No reasons have to be given for their verdict, there’s no way of knowing if the jury understood the case and came to decision for the right reasons.
• Mirza; racial bias.

Question 6

DisAdv; Exceptions

Answer 6

• 2 exceptions where courts will inquire into conduct of jury in coming to its verdict.
• One of these ways is through using another method to make a decision (Young(Stephen)).
• Another way is where extraneous material has been used (Karakaya)

Question 7

DisAdv; Jury Tampering

Answer 7

• People try to interfere with jury service through bribes.
• In these cases, police may be used to protect the jurors but may be ineffective as they are expensive and removes police from their work.
• S44 CJA 2003 combats this in Twomey allowing for trials to be had without a jury.
• In KS, trial without jury was refused.

Question 8

DisAdv; Lack of Understanding

Answer 8

• Juries may not understand the cases which they are trying.
• ‘Are Juries Fair?’; 797 jurors, 2/3 or which thought they understood judge’s directions but when it came to it, 31% of jurors actually understood direction.
• Even with increased understanding through written summary, less than half jurors fully understood judges direction.