Juries - Jury Selection Flashcards
How are Jurors selected?
- Name is chosen from the Electoral Register
- Responsibility of Central Jury Summoning Bureau (CJSB)
- Chosen at random by a computer
- Summons are sent and individuals must notify court if cannot do jury service
- Jurors are usually asked to commit to two weeks of service.
Jury Vetting
Jurors are checked to ensure they are appropriate.
1. Police checks - to ensure that potential juror is not disqualified.
2. Wider Background checks - Political affiliations. This is only allowed in special circumstances:
- Terrorist cases
- Cases involving national security
The Attorney General must give permission for this.
Arriving at court
- 15 individuals will be summoned to court for jury service.
- Court clerk will select 12 out of these 15 jurors at random. Then, the jurors will enter the box to be sworn in.
- Each juror can choose if they want to take an oath or an affirmation.
Challenges by defence
There are two challenges by the defence:
1. Challenge to the array - i.e. the whole jury which suggests jury is unrepresentative/ selected in a biased way. E.g. Romford Jury - in a panel of 12 jurors, 9 came from Romford and two lived on the same street. Judge agreed to empanel another jury.
Another E.g. R v Fraser D was from an ethnic minority. All jurors were white and the judge agreed to empanel another jury but R v Ford stated that if jury was selected randomly then the lack of multi -culturalism is okay.
- Challenge for cause - i.e to individual juror - juror is disqualified or knows someone involved in the case. E.g. R v Wilson and Sprason where wife of a prison officer where the defendant was held was a juror in the case. Court held it was not appropriate for her to be on the Jury.
Challenges by prosecution
The prosecution will ask a juror to “stand by the crown” and the juror will be put at the bottom of the list and will only be used if there is no one else. No reason needed.
