Disadvantages of jury trial Flashcards
What are the 8 disadvantages of jury trial?
- Perverse decisions
- Secrecy
- Bias
- Media Influence
- Lack of Understanding
- Fraud trials
- Jury tampering
- High acquittal rates
In what 2 cases have a jury refused to convict in a clear cut cause which is an example of a perverse decision?
R v Randle and Pottle (1991)
R v Kronlid and others 1996
What happened in the case of R v Randle and Pottle 1991 which is an example of a perverse decision?
The defendants were charged with helping the spy George Blake to escape from prison however their prosecution did not occur until 25 years after the escape and so the jury acquitted them
What happened in the case of R v Kronlid and Others 1996 this is an example of a perverse decision?
the defendants admitted they had caused £1.5 million damage to a plane. However they pleaded not guilty on the basis that they were preventing the plane from being sent to Indonesia where it would have been used in attacks against the people of East Timor
Why is the secrecy of the jury room also a disadvantage?
This is because no reasons have to be given for the verdict so there is no way of knowing if the jury did understand the case and come to the decision for the right reasons
What 2 cases were on appeal and the HOL ruled that it could not inquire into discussions in a jury room?
R v Mizra and R v Connor and Rollock (2004)
What happened in the case of R v Mizra 2004 which is an example of the disadvantage of secrecy?
6 days after the verdict one juror wrote that the interpreter the defendant used to help in the trial was believed to be by the other jurors a ‘ploy’. The juror who wrote to the defendants counsel also said that she had been shouted down when she objected and reminded her fellow jurors of the judges directions
What happened in the case of Connor and Rollock 2004 which is an example of the disadvantage of secrecy?
A juror wrote to the Crown Court stating that many jurors thought they should convict both defendants of stabbing to ‘teach them a lesson’. This was 5 days after the verdict by before the sentence was passed. Her co-jurors had refused to listen and remarked that if they did consider which defendant was responsible they could take a week to consider verdicts in the case
In the cases of R v Mizra 2004 and Connor and Rollock 2004, what did the HOL decide using the law on these appeals from the jurors?
HOL held that s.8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 made it a contempt to disclose or obtain or solicit information about what had occurred in the jury room even for the purposes of appeal
What power makes it a contempt to disclose or obtain or solicit information what had occurred in the jury room even for the purposes of appeal?
s.8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981
What Artof the European Convention of Human Rights did the HOL say was compatible with s.8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981?
Art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a fair trial)
What are the 2 reasons, briefly, when the courts will inquire into the conduct of the jury coming to their verdict?
1) Where there has been a complete repudiation of the oath taken by the jurors to try the case according to the evidence, using another method to make their decision
2) where extraneous material has been introduced into the jury room such as telephone calls
What is the best known example of when the courts inquired into the conduct of the jury in coming to their verdict where there had been a complete repudiation of the oath taken by the jurors?
R v Young Stephen 1995
What are examples of when courts can inquire into the conduct of jury where extraneous material has been introduced into the jury room?
- Telephone calls
- papers mistakenly included in the set of papers given by the court to the jury
- information from the internet
What is a case when courts inquired into the conduct of the jury as extraneous material had been introduced into the jury room?
R v Karakaya 2005
What happened in the case of R v Young 1995 which was an example of a car where the courts could inquire into the conduct of the jury in coming to their verdict when the jurors have used another method to make their decision?
During a murder case, the jury had to stay overnight in a hotel as they had not reached a verdict by the first day and held a séance using a fuji board to try to contact the dead victims, they returned with a guilty verdict
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial
Why were the court able to inquire into what happened in the hotel in the case of R v Young 1995?
as it had occurred in a hotel and was not part of the jury room deliberations
What happened in the case of Karakaya 2005 which is an example of a case where the courts could inquire into the conduct of the jury due to extraneous material used in the jury room?
The defendant was accused of rape and a juror did an internet search at home and then brought this information into the jury room, convicting Karakaya.
The retrial was ordered and Karakaya was acquitted by the jurors in the second trial
In Cheryl Thomas’ research , Are Juries Fair? 2010 what % of jurors did she find admitted they had looked on the internet for information about cases they were trying?
12%
What are 2 disadvantages of using the internet in a case?
- the information may be prejudicial for the defendant
- they could do a search on a defendants name and find previous convictions which the jury should not know about
What is a factor of why those with certain criminal convictions are disqualified from sitting on a jury?
As some jurors may be biased against the police
What case is an example of where some jurors are racially prejudiced which is an example of the disadvantage of bias?
Sander V United Kingdom (2000)
What happened in the case of Sander V United Kingdom 2000 involving the disadvantage of Bias?
The judge received a note concerning that jurors had been making openly racist remarks and jokes. Next day the judge received 2 letters, one signed by all jurors that there had been no racist remarks and one from the initial juror saying they may have ben the ones making the jokes. The judge allowed the case to continue
The European Court of Human Rights held that the judge should have discharged the jury as there was an obvious risk of racial abuse
In the research held from the report of Are Juries Fair by Cheryl Thomas 2010, what % of white&asian and then black defendants were convicted by a jury?
63% white and asian
67% black defendants
What 2 cases highlighted the disadvantage of media influence in a high-profile case ?
R v West 1996
R v Taylor and Taylor 1993
Illustrate the case of R v West 1996
Rosemary West was convicted for the murder of 10 girls including her daughter which was covered from the time the bodies were discovered. Rosemary appealed against her conviction on the basis that media coverage made it impossible for her to receive a fair trial.
The court held that the judge had given adequate warning to the jury to consider only the evidence they heard in court
What happened in the case of R v Taylor and Taylor 1993?
2 sisters were charged with murder. Some newspapers had published a still from a video sequence which gave a false impression of what was happening. The trial judge allowed an appeal of the convictions as the influence of this picture could have had an influence on the jury’s verdict. The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions
What might a jury not understand in a case?
They may be understand the judges’ direction on the law in the case
What happened in one case at Snaresbrook Crown Court?
they sent a note to the judge asking what they had to do so the judge discharged the jury
In what 2 countries has there been recent research into jurors’ understanding of cases?
- Australia
- England
In research conducted by Are Juries Fair Cheryl Thomson 2010, research on 797 jurors which sat in 3 different areas took place. In two of the areas Blackfriars, London and Winchester how many said that they were unable to understand the directions?
1/3rd
Under research from Are Juries Fair by Cheryl Thomson 2010, how many jurors from Nottingham felt they understood the directions?
just under half of the jurors
In the research from Are Juries Fair by Cheryl Thomson 2010, what % of jurors were found to have actually understand the directions fully in the legal terms used by the judge
31%
In the research from Are Juries Fair by Cheryl Thomson 2010, 31% of jurors were found to have actually understood the directions fully in the legal terms used by the judge, what did this % increase to when jurors were given a written summary of instructions?
48%
What does the research conducted by Are Juries Fair by Cheryl Thomson 2010 show regarding the 31% and then 48% of jurors who understood the directions given by the judge?
that even with a written summary less than half of jurors fully understand the judges’ directions
Why can Fraud trials be a disadvantage of jury trial?
fraud trials with complex accounts being given in evidence can create special problems from jurors
Why is the length of fraud cases due to their complexity a disadvantage to jury trial?
May require the jurors to be away from their own work for months
What did the Roskill Committee in 1986 suggest (fraud trials)
That juries should not be used for complex fraud cases
What provision has recently been made in an Act of Parliament for the suggestion proposed by the Roskill Committee in 1986 regarding fraud trials?
-Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
What did the Criminal Justice Act 2003 do in regards to setting a provision for the use of juries in complex fraud cases which was never brought in?
provision for the prosecution to apply for trial by judge alone in complex fraud cases
What Act in 2012 repealed the provision set by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to allow the prosecution to apply fro trial by judge alone in complex fraud cases?
the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
What did the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 do in order to set provisions on complex fraud cases?
set a special provision for cases where there are a large number of counts on the indictment. This allows a trial of sample counts with a jury an then if the defendant is convicted on those, the remainder can be tried by a judge alone
How may friends of the defendant contribute to the disadvantage, Jury Tampering? (2)
- Bribing members of the jury to bring a not guilty verdict
- Making threats against jury members so that they are too afraid to find the defendant guilty
What are the disadvantages of using the police to prevent jury tampering?(3)
- may not be effective
- expensive
- removes the police from their other work
What act is in place in order to combat jury tampering?
s.44 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
What does s.44 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 provide in terms of jury tampering?
provides that where there has already been an effort to tamper with a jury the prosecution can apply for the trial to be heard by a judge alone
What case was the first trial without a jury approved?
R v Twomey and others 2009
What happened in the case of R v Twomey and others 2009
FACTS-defendants were charged with offences connected to a large robbery from a warehouse at Heathrow -there was a serious attempt of jury tampering
- prosecution applied to a single judge without a jury
- Judge refused but CoA overturned this decision
What act allows there to be a re trial to be ordered if someone is subsequently proved to have interfered with the jury?
the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996
In what case was trial by judge alone refused even under the circumstances of jury tampering?
KS v R 2010
What happened in KS v R 2010?
- Tenth trial jury tampering occurred
- Jury members and members of the public were directed to the same place to smoke during breaks
- CoA refused an application for trial by judge
- CoA said that the casual arrangements at the CC would not be repeated
What percentage of defendants who plead not guilty after quitted at the Crown Court
60%
How many acquittals are ordered by the judge without a jury ?
more than half
What percentage of acquittals are by a jury in the 60%?
10-15%
When will the judge guide the jury on an acquittal? (2)
When there is no case against the defendant due to
- a legal point
- the prosecution evidence is not sufficient in law to prove a case
What percentage of juries actually acquit ?
under 40% of cases
What case offered counselling to help the jurors cope?
Jurors in the Rosemary West case were offered counselling after the trial to help them cope with the evidence they had to see and hear
