Chapter 1.12 - Juries

Question 0

What courts are juries used in?

Answer 0

Juries are used in:

1. Crown Court (for either way/indictable offences)
2. Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) of the High Court
3. County Court
4. Coroners’ Court (where a person has died as a result of an industrial accident, whilst in prison, police custody or where public safety is involved)

Question 1

What is the role of juries?

Answer 1

The jury have to weigh up the evidence and decide what the true facts of the case are. The judge directs them as to what the relevant law is and the jury then have to apply the facts of the law and thereby reach a verdict.

Question 2

What is the criminal role of juries?

Answer 2

Juries only decide a minority of cases (1%) as only 5% of criminal cases are heard in the Crown Court and in the vast majority, the defendants plead guilty (in criminal cases the judge decides the appropriate sentence after the guilty verdict of the jury).
They hear indictable and either-way offences where the defendant pleads not guilty, listen to evidence and privately make a unanimous or majority verdict without having to give any reason for their decision.
If the prosecution have not proved the case against the defendant (10% of cases), they may be directed by the judge to find the defendant not guilty.

Question 3

What is the civil role of juries?

Answer 3

Juries hear less than 1% of civil cases. A panel of 8 and 12 sit in the County (very rare to have a trial by jury since 1991) and QBD High Courts respectively. The jury decide who wins (whether they believe the claimant) and the amount of damages to be awarded (with guidance from a judge). Jury trials may be granted in cases involving defamation (libel/slander), malicious prosecution, false imprisonment and civil fraud, unless detailed examination of documents or of a scientific nature is required. In this case, the claimant can ask to be tried by a judge (occurs in defamation cases got claims less than £10K). Since Ward v James (1996) jury trials cannot be used for personal injury cases.

Question 4

Explain 4 problems of using juries in civil cases.

Answer 4

1. Amount of damages - juries in civil cases decide both the liability and also the amount of damages that will be awarded, which tend to vary greatly as each jury has its own ideas and does not follow past cases, leading to inconsistency. The Court of Appeal has power to order a new trial or substitute such sum as appears proper to the court, if they feel the damages were inadequate or excessive.
2. Unreasoned decision; the jury does not have to give a reason for its decisions/awards which makes it harder to see if there are good grounds for appeal.
3. Bias, in that if public figures are involved whom jurors may know or have opinions of, their decision may be biased.
4. Civil cases are expensive and the use of a jury adds to this as the case is likely to last longer (potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds). Therefore the Lord Chancellor has introduced some reforms to reduce defamation costs e.g. allowing parties to agree to transfer their case to the County Court, which has seen increased jurisdiction. Here, a jury of 8 may be used and the trial is likely to be less expensive than a High Court trial. Secondly the Defamation Act 1996 allows the claimant to seek up to £10K in a quick procedure dealt with by a judge, to clear their name and receive immediate compensation at a lower cost.