Juries

Question 1

What are the qualifications of a juror? (8 marks)

Answer 1

-Juries Act 1974 and Criminal Justice Act 2003; jury members must be 18–75, UK citizen for 5 years after their 13th birthday and registered to vote

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-Ineligible: diagnosed mental disorder, under Mental Capacity Act

-Disqualified: on bail, served a custodial sentence (<5 years = 10 year ban, >5 years = lifetime)

-Incapacity: blind, deaf, can’t understand English

-Defer: hospital appointments, pre booked holidays, child care problems

-Excused: served past 2 years, military or doctors (usually defer)

Question 2

What is the selection and appointment process of a juror? (8 marks)

Answer 2

-Jury Central Summoning Bureau administers summoning process

-Computers produce random list from electoral register and jurors receive ‘jury summons’ by post

-‘jury vetting’ by police
-routine police checks: check for disqualifications e.g. if someone has committed a criminal offence (R v Mason)
-wider background checks: background and political affiliations for cases involving national security and terrorism (ABC Trial 1978)

-At court, jurors assemble in jury area, 15 selected by jury officer, 12 sit on jury

Jury challenging:
1. Stand by for the Crown - allows prosecution to ask for a juror to not be used unless not enough jurors

2. Defence ‘For cause’ - challenge right of individual, must have valid reason e.g. Juror knows witness or defendant (R v Abdroikof 2007)
3. Both parties ‘challenge to the array’ whole jury, chosen in unrepresentative or biased way

Question 3

What is the role of a juror?

Answer 3

-Crown Court, most serious criminal cases (murder, rape, GBH, robbery)

-Risk of jury tampering = right lost (R v Twomey)

-Sworn in -> prosecution and defence evidence -> witness -> judge’s summary

-retire to jury room and appoint foreman and deliberate

-2 hours no unanimous verdict, majority of 11-1 or 10-2 accepted under s.17 Juries Act 1974

-Foreman returns verdict, don’t have to give reason

-jury discharged and return to assembly area if service not expired

-Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 - offence to discuss or research the case outside of court, including social media

Question 4

What are the advantages of juries?

Answer 4

• Jury equity, not legal experts, don’t have to follow precedent, decide on fairness (R v Owen)

-Secrecy of the jury room, decide in secret, protected from external influences (R v West)

-Open system of justice, ordinary people and process open to public

-Impartiality, random, vetting

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of juries?

Answer 5

-Perverse verdicts, not legal experts, may use strange practices or wrong reasons (R v Young, R v Gregory)

-Secrecy of jury room, no reason required and no one can inquire (R v Young)

-Amateur justice, ordinary people not trained, Sir Louis Bloom Cooper QC said ‘jury is the high point of amateurism, potentially a recipe for incompetence and bias’

-Bias, jurors may have prejudices which could affect their verdict e.g. racism (Sander v UK 2000, R v Gregory)