Chapter 2 evaluation Flashcards
juries
ADVANTAGE-Public Confidence
Point: The jury is considered a fundamental of society. The right to try ones peers is a bastion of liberty against the state.
Evidence: Michael Mansfield-“it is the most democratic element of our judicial system” Lord Devlin said that juries are “the lamp that shows that freedom lives”
Explain: Defendants have more faith when being tried by juries in the decision and are more likely to accept the verdict/ wont appeal .The tradition is very old and people have confidence in the impartiality and fairness of a jury trial.
Link: This is an advantage because it is more just to be tried by fellow citizens rather than some judges who are narrow- minded and may lack social awareness.
ADVANTAGE- Jury Equity
Point: since juries are not legal experts, they are not bound by past precedent and do not have to give reasons for their verdict, they can decide on ‘fairness’.
Evidence: several cases have shown the importance of this such as R v Randle and Pottle (1991)
Explain: This means the Jury are not bound by previous decisions . This case shows that the Jury use its own ideas of fairness and justice to ignore the actual law or the judges directions.
Link and COUNTER: this is an advantage because jurors have the freedom to make their own decision based on their beliefs and values of society at the time. However it can also be seen as a disadvantage because if they do not have to give reasons for their verdict then we can not be sure that the Jury actually understood the case and why they came to that decision. This can be seen as un fair.
ADVANTAGE- Secrecy of decisions
Point: The jury discussion on the verdict takes place in secret. The criminal Justice act 2015 made it a criminal offence to disclose anything said in a jury deliberation.
Evidence: N/A
Explain: This takes the pressure off a juror and allows them freedom to made a decision and ignore the strict interpretation of the law or the judge’s directions. If this information was disclosed it could put a juror off.
Link: This is an advantage because it allows jurors to make a decision they are confident in and are less likely to be influenced by other people outside the jury.
COUNTER: It can still be very easy to disclose information and biased opinions can be made based on research outside the deliberation room. This can made verdicts un fair as jurors can be influenced by facts outside of the case.
ADVANTAGE- Representative Nature
Point: Juries are much more representative of all sections of society than magistrates or judges. The age limits for jury service is 18-75 so there is likely to be a wide range of ages in a jury. The jury will also most likely have a range of social backgrounds, in contrast to the judiciary.
Evidence: N/A
Explain: This means that juries are a just way of making decisions as they are made up of people from different backgrounds who have a mix of unique opinions.
Link: This is an advantage because verdicts are just as people from different backgrounds contain social awareness. Some jurors will be able to familiarise themselves with the defendants background and understand.
DISADVANTAGE-Secrecy of decision making
Point: The secrecy of decision making can be a disadvantage. This is due to no reason needs to be given for a verdict, so there is no way of knowing if the Jury understood the case and whether they reached the decision for the right reasons. There can also be no investigation of malpractice within the Jury room.
Evidence: N/A
Explain and Link : This is a disadvantage as it means the verdict isn’t reliable because there might not be a logical reason behind it.
COUNTER: however, it can be argued that the secrecy of decision making has some advantages such as pressure is taken off the juror as they don’t need to disclose information about the decision making. This allows the jury to have the freedom to ignore the strict interpretation of the law and the judges directions.
DISADVANTAGE- events outside the Jury Room
Point: The appeal courts have always been prepared to investigate events outside the jury room that might have affected the way a jury came to their decision.
Evidence: R v Young (Stephen) 1995 -see case study
Explain: this case is just one example of how events outside the jury room have affected the verdict.
Link: this is a disadvantage because verdicts can be un fair if other events have affected the decision making. This damages the defendants right to a fair trial as the decision could be biased by other factors.
DISADVANTAGE- Extraneous material
Point: The appeal court will also inquire into events where extraneous material has been introduced into the jury room. Examples have included telephone calls in and out of the jury room, information from the internet and papers mistakenly given by the court to the jury.
Evidence: R v Karakaya (2005) -see case study
Explain and Link: this is a disadvantage because the verdict cannot be relied on as extraneous material has influenced jurors. Infringes the defendants right to a fair trial as the verdict is not purely based upon the facts and evidence that was given in court.
DISADVANATAGE-Media influence
Point: Media coverage of the case they are sitting on may influence jurors. This is especially true in high- profile cases where there has been a lot of publicity about police investigations.
Evidence: R v West(1996) - see case study
Explain and Link: this makes the verdict reached easily influenced and not reliable. In these cases media influence has a significant impact on how the jurors see the case and they may be influenced by other people who have seen media opinion.
