Juries

Question 1

What qualifications are needed to sit on a jury? Which act covers the qualifications?

Answer 1

• Must be aged between 18 and 70
• Must be on the electoral register (registered to vote)
• Must have been a resident of the UK for at least 5 years since the age of 13

These are all covered under the Juries Act (1974)

Question 2

Who is disqualified from jury service?

Answer 2

For life:

• Imprisoned for life
• Detention during her majesty’s pleasure
• Imprisoned for public protection

For 10 years:

• Sentenced for less than 5 years
• Suspended sentences
• Community Orders

Question 3

Who is not eligible for jury service?

Answer 3

• Mentally disordered
• Deaf and blind
• Lack capacity = can’t speak English, have a disability etc.

Question 4

What is discretionary excusal?

Answer 4

Is when somebody is excused from jury service for good reason, for example pregnancy, exams, pre-booked holidays etc. Instead, their jury service will be moved to a later date.

Question 5

How are juries selected?

Answer 5

• Names are chosen at random from the electoral register
• 15 are chosen on the day of a trial to enter the court from the jury pool
• In court, the clerk picks 12 out of the 15 to sit on the jury at random, the remaining jurors sit in the court as back-up
• The jury may be vetted

Question 6

What is jury vetting? Name the 2 types

Answer 6

Jury vetting is when the jury is checked to make sure that they are suitable to sit the trial.

Routine police checks - checks made to eliminate those disqualified

Wider background checks - A wider check on the juror’s background and political affiliations

Question 7

What different challenges can be made to a jury?

Answer 7

• Challenge to the array
• Challenge for cause
• Prosecution’s right to stand by

Question 8

What is a challenge to the array?

Answer 8

The right to challenge the whole jury on the basis that it has been chosen in a biased or an unrepresentative way

Question 9

What is a challenge for cause?

Answer 9

Challenging the right of an individual to sit on the jury, for example if the juror is related to anybody involved in the case

Question 10

What is the prosecution’s right to stand by?

Answer 10

This allows for a juror to be put at the end of the list for potential jurors, meaning they are only used unless there are not enough jurors. The prosecution doesn’t have to provide a reason for standing by.

Question 11

What are the advantages of juries?

Answer 11

• Public confidence - Shows’s democracy, allowing us to be judged by our peers
• Jury equity - the jury is not bound by legal precedent, and can base their judgements off their own ideas of fairness
• Secrecy of the jury room - Jury has less pressure and are free from outside influence
• Impartiality - Juries are impartial because jurors shouldn’t be connected to anyone in the case, and the random process of selection should result in a wide cross-section of society

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of juries?

Answer 12

• ## Perverse decisions - jury equity means the jury doesn’t have to provide reasoning behind their decisions, and in some cases