Juries 😊 Flashcards
In which court are juries used?
Crown court
What does the jury decide?
Whether a defendant is guilty or not
Where are juries chosen from?
Electoral roll
How many members are there on a jury?
12
How much may you be fined if someone doesn’t turn up and hasn’t disclosed it?
£5,000
What was the problem before 1972?
Only owner of dwelling could be put on jury service so women and young children were therefore excluded
What is the act that states the rules regarding eligibility?
When was this act amended?
Juries act 1974
Criminal justice act 2003
3 rules regarding eligibility?
- aged between 18 and 70
- registered at overall electoral roll
- have lived in the UK for at least 5 years since the age of 13
What 4 things may cause someone to be permanently excluded from jury service?
- those serving life imprisonment
- those imprisoned for public protection reasons
- serving an extended sentence
- serving a term of imprisonment of five years or more
When might someone be excluded from performing jury service for a set amount of time? X4 points
If have at any time in the last 10 years…..
- served a sentence of imprisonment
- had a suspended sentence passed on them
- had a community order
- is on bail
What act states the rules regarding mentally disordered patients?
Criminal justice act 2003
Other disqualifications involving mental illnesses? X5
- disqualified if you are a person who suffers/suffered a mental illness or disorder
- is a resident in a hospital or institution
- regularly attends treatment by a medical practitioner
- person under guardianship (S7 of mental health act 1983)
- person under part 7 that has been deemed incapable of administering his duty
What act states that “the mere fact of a disability doesn’t prevent someone acting as a juror”?
Section
Act
Section 9b juries act 1974
Who can discharge a juror and why?
Judge- satisfied that the disability means that the juror is not capable of acting effectively as a juror
What has been the issue in relation to deaf jurors? Year?
Deaf men couldn’t sit on a juror
1995-1999
What two problems would this cause if deaf jurors were allowed to sit on a jury?
- interpreter needed and an extra person is unlawful- only 12
- juror couldn’t pick up tone of voice from everyone present which was important
When has summoning jurors the new way been used since?
2000
How does the summoning of jurors work? X7
- computer randomly selects 150 people from the electoral register
- those are summoned by letter giving dates, courts and times
- jurors must arrive and then wait in the “pool” at the courts
- jury summoning officers may ask questions
- jurors are divided into 15 and each allocated a court room
- 12 from the 15 are randomly selected
- they are sworn in and challenges are made
Why might a person be excused? OLD RULES….. X5
- anyone 65-70 years old
- anyone who did jury service in the last 2 years
- members of parliament
- those in a medical profession
- those in the armed forces- if their absence from duty would be prejudicial if the efficiency of the service
Reasons jurors may be excused or discharged up to date X4
- being too ill to attend court
- students with exams
- difficulties with child care
- people with pre-booked holidays
What may the court do instead of an excusal?
A deferral to a more convenient date
What is vetting?
Checking for suitability
Who can view the list of potential jurors?
Prosecution and defence
What are the 2 types of vetting?
Example cases
- Checking criminal records for convictions (R V Mason)
- Checking of special branch and security services records involving national security and terrorist cases (AG’s guidelines)
What occurs after the jury is sworn in?
How many can be made?
Challenges are made
3
What is the challenge of the array?
Who has the right to challenge?
The right to challenge the whole jury on the basis that it has been chose in an unrepresentative or biased way
Defence
What is the challenge of the cause? X3 grounds
Who has the right to challenge?
Right to challenge individual jurors on the following grounds:
- juror is not qualified to serve
- juror is biased
- juror may reasonably be suspected of bias
Defence and prosecution
What is the right to ‘stand by’?
Who has this right to challenge?
May also require any number of jurors to stand by
Can put certain jurors at the bottom of the list without giving a reason- used sparingly
Prosecution
Alternatives to juries X4
- Single judge
- Panel of judges
- One judge, two Lay assessors
- Judge and mini- jury
Advantages of juries X5
- variety of the population (18-70 years)
- creates a democratic society
- jury secrecy- free from pressure
- people seem to have confidence in the impartiality and fairness of a jury trail
- old tradition
Disadvantages of a juries X7
- unjustified decisions as juries have refused to act in the past (R V Kronlid)
- lack of law knowledge
- juror bias
- media coverage can influence jurors especially in high profile cases (R V West)
- trails can be long and complicated
- jury tampering so guilty people may walk free
- 60% of those who plead NOT guilty at the crown court are acquitted
Strengths of choosing a jury in this way X4
- variety within the age group (18-70)
- ensured the people chosen have no illnesses that can affect opinions
- there are deferrals available
- ensures criminals can’t be on the jury
Weaknesses of choosing a jury in this way X6
- right to an excusal
- discrimination within race and gender
- occupation affects being on the jury
- deaf people and those with mental illnesses are not allowed to be part of the jury
- jurors don’t get to prepare for the cases that could come up
- not a true representation of the population if they are excluding certain groups of people
What did Lord Woolf state after a lord was called for jury service? X6
- judge is part of his duty as a private citizen
- excusal only granted on extreme circumstances
- deferrals should be sought if the judge has judicial commitments
- judge should ask member of staff
- up to the judge if he wants to discuss his position with the other jury members
- judges must follow directions given by the trail judge even if they believe info is inaccurate
What happens once the prosecution and defence stated their cases? X5
- Sum up cases
- State the law
- Judge sums up the law
- Speaks to the jury
- Released from court
Can a judge overall a jury’s decision?
No
What act states that discussions must take place in secret?
S8 contempt of court act 1981
What case shows an exception to this rule?
R V Young 1995
Advantages of jury secrecy? X2
- cases kept private
- no one knows who voted guilty or not guilty
What is a unanimous verdict?
All 12 jurors agree
What is a majority verdict?
10 to 2 majority
What is nobbling?
Jurors being bribed or intimidated by associates of the defendant into voting for or not voting for a guilty verdict
