Juries Flashcards
What did the juries used to do?
Originally they were used for providing local knowledge and information (acted more like a witness then decision makers)
What do the modern juries do?
They decide based of case facts and evidence whether the defendant is innocent or guilty
What case established the independence of the jury?
Bushell’s case 1670
What happened in Bushell’s case 1670?
Several jurors refused to convict Quaker activists of unlawful assembly. The trial judge would not accept the not guilty verdict, and ordered the jurors to resume their deliberations without food or drink. When the jurors persisted in their refusal to convict, the court fined them and committed them to prison until the fines were paid.
On appeal, the Court of Common Pleas ordered the release of the jurors, holding that jurors could not be punished for their verdict
What case established that jurors were sole arbiters of facts and that judges cannot challenge their decision?
R v McKenna 1960
What happened in R v McKenna 1960?
The judge at the trial threatened the jury that if they did not return a verdict within another ten minutes they would be locked up all night. The jury then returned a verdict of guilty, but the defendant’s conviction was quashed on appeal because of the judge’s interference