Juries- paper 1 Flashcards
who qualifies for jury service
- 18-75 years olds
- on the electoral register
- been a UK resident for 5 years consecutively since 13th birthday
2 examples of mental disorders make someone unfit to serve
- psychopathic disorder
- resident of an institution or hospital
2 examples of what could permanently disqualify someone from service
- life imprisonment
- served prison sentence of 5 years +
2 examples of what could temporarily disqualify someone from service
- on bail
- subject to prison term or suspended sentence of below 5 years
2 physical disabilities that make someone unable to serve
- hearing impaired
- visually impaired
(both depend on severity)
what acts allows excusals or deferrals of jury duty
- S9 Juries Act 1974
reasons a person can defer jury duty
- religious holidays
- exams
- childcare commitment
- work commitments
- lack of capacity to cope with trial, e.g. poor english
act allowing judges, lawyers and police offers to sit jury duty
- CJA ‘03
how are people selected and notified for jury duty
- random from the electoral register
- summons are sent to them
how long are jurors expected to serve for
- minimum of 10 working days
- if it’s expected to be longer then they are asked if they can serve
what is the fee for non-attendance to jury service
- £1000
2 types of vetting (checking)
- police checks to ensure no potential juror is disqualified
- wider background checks into jurors political affiliations; only allowed in exceptional circumstances and attorney general must give permission, e.g. terrorism cases
how many jurors are selected in court
- clerk selects 12 from a total of15 at random
- prosecution and defence both have the right to challenge the jury
types of challenges to the jury
- challenge to the whole jury
- challenge to an individual juror
challenging the whole jury
- known as a challenge to the array
- suggests the jury is unrepresentative and bias
- E.G. R v Fraser where D was from an ethnic minority so the all white jury was changed