Juries Flashcards
Give two advantages of the jury and explain why it’s an advantage
Public confidence- allows 12 strangers who have no legal knowledge to come together and make a decision it can be seen that this would gain individuals confidence
Secrecy of the jury room- jury are free from pressure of outside influences when deciding the verdict that may be unpopular with the public
Open system of justice- makes the legal system open to public who are involved in a key role. Also helps to keep the law clearer
Jury equity- since there not legal experts they won’t have the knowledge of a judge for example and so they won’t follow the precedent of past cases
what is a perverse decision and what case can back it?
Perverse decisions- the jury can ignore an unjust law R v Randle and Pottle [defendants were charged with helping the spy George Blake to escape from prison. Their prosecution didn’t occur until 25 years later after the escape when they wrote about what they had done and the jury acquitted them possibly due to the time lapse between offence and the prosecution
Why could secrecy of the jury room be seen as a disadvantage?
Because no reasons have to be given for the verdict decided so there is no way of knowing if the jury understood the case and came to the decision for the right reasons. R v Mirza
Give two disadvantages to the jury and why they would be seen as a disadvantage
Access to the internet- on a trial that lasts several days there is nothing stopping the jurors from searching the case, this is a bad thing because this could influence their decision made in the jury room even though it could have easily been false information
Media influence- similar to jurors accessing the internet however in cases that are in the public eye and covered by the media it is hard to avoid seeing and hearing things said about the case. R v Taylor and Taylor
Racial bias- although we can hope that there are no racially aggravated decisions made there are 12 of them and there could still be prejudice amongst this one case that raised a problem was Sander v United Kingdom
Lack of understanding- there’s no way of knowing if the jurors fully understood the case they are trying and so it is unclear as to wether the decision is made fairly off knowledge in the case or just agreeing with everyone else
Jury tampering- where the defendant tries to interfere with the jury and bribe members in a not guilty verdict
Three reasons someone may be disqualified from the jury
Imprisonment for life, or custody for life
Anyone currently on bail for criminal proceedings
Any time in the last 10 years had a community order or other community sentence passed on them
What are the basic qualifications to sit on the jury
Aged between 18 and 75
Registered as a parliamentary or local government elector
Resident in the uk, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for at least 5 years since their 13th birthday
Who is excused from sitting on the jury?
Full time serving members of the forces may have the right to be excused
Where there is a good reason why the person cannot sit e.g too sick
