Jury Qualifications The Right To Be Excused From Jury Service

Question 1

Prior to April 2004, people from which profession were excused from jury service if they did not want to do it ? (2)

Answer 1

e. g
- doctors
- pharmacists

Question 2

Which act abolished the right for those of certain professions to be exempt from jury service such as doctors and pharmacists?

Answer 2

Criminal Justice Act 2003 abolished this category

Question 3

When may full-time serving members of the forces be excused from jury service ?

Answer 3

if their commanding officer certifies that their absence from duty would be prejudicial to the efficiency of the service

Question 4

What are discretionary excusals?

Answer 4

When anyone who has a problem which makes it difficult from them to do their jury service may ask to be excused or for their period of service to be put back to a later date in which the court has discretion to grant an excusal

Question 5

When will the court grant a discretionary excusal?

name 3 out of 6

Answer 5

When there is a sufficiently good reason such as

• being too ill
• suffering from a disability
• being a mother to a small baby
• business appointments which can’t be undertaken by anyone else
• examinations
• holidays

Question 6

In the case of discretionary excusals what are the courts likely to do ?

Answer 6

to defer the jury service to a more convenient date rather than excuse the person completely

Question 7

Where is it stated that discretionary excusals should only defer the jury service rather than exempt the person completely ?

Answer 7

stated in the current guidance for summoning officers which is aimed at preventing the high number of discretionary excusals

Question 8

What does the current guidance for summoning officers which is aimed at preventing the high number of discretionary excusals state about jury service ? quote.

Answer 8

“The normal expectations is that everyone summoned for jury service will serve at the time for which they are summoned “

Question 9

What must happen if a person is not excused from jury sentence ?

Answer 9

must attend on the date set or may be fined up to £1,000 for non-attendance

Question 10

Which category of people prior to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which abolished this?

Answer 10

judges and others who had been involved in the administration of justice within the previous 10 years

Question 11

what do some people feel about allowing judges, lawyers, police etc to attend jury service?

Answer 11

that this could lead to bias or to a legally well-trained juror influencing the rest of the jury

Question 12

In R v Abdroikof
R v Green
R v Williamson 2007
what appeals did the HOL consider ?

Answer 12

the HOL considered appeals where a police officer or prosecutor had been one of the jury members

Question 13

In the cases
In R v Abdroikof 
R v Green 
R v Williamson 2007
when the HOL considered appeals where a police officer or prosecutor had been one of the jury members , what did they conclude?

Answer 13

they held that the fact that one of the jury members was a police officer did not of itself make the trial unfair.
However, a majority of 3 out of 5 judges held that in the situation where a police officer on the jury had worked in the same station as the police officer giving evidence for the prosecution of the trial then there was a risk of bias

Question 14

Who primarily gets an excusal?

Answer 14

full time serving members of the forces may have a right to be excused

Question 15

After the cases 
In R v Abdroikof 
R v Green 
R v Williamson 2007
what was the test to apply this in such cases ?

Answer 15

“whether the fair minded individual and informed observer having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was biased”

Question 16

What did Lord Bingham apart of a 3 judge majority decision conclude about the presence of a juror who was a local Crown Prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service?

Answer 16

that this meant justice was clearly not being seen to be done

Question 17

What did the ECHR rule in Hanif v UK 2012?

Answer 17

that having a police officer on the jury was a breach of Article 6 (1) the right to fair trial

Question 18

In what case did the ECHR rule that having a police officer on the jury was a breach of Article 6(1) the right to a fair trial?

Answer 18

Hanif v UK 2012

Question 19

What happened in the case of Hanif v UK 2012 which conflicted with the HOL decision in R v Abdroikof?

Answer 19

The defendant was convicted after the police officer juror was the foreman of the jury. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction even when the HOL in R v Abdroikof ruled that a fair-minded individual would have concluded a real possibility of bias

Question 20

When was a judge from the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Dyson summoned to attend as a juror?

Answer 20

June 2004, 2 months after the rules on jury service changed

Question 21

Which Judge was summoned for jury service in June 2004, 2 months after the rules on jury service changed?

Answer 21

Lord Justice Dyson

Question 22

After a judge from the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Dyson, was summoned for jury service in June 2004, 2 months after the rules on jury service had changed, what did this promote the Lord Chief Justice , Lord Woolf to do?

Answer 22

to issue observations to judges who are called for jury service

Question 23

What were the observations issued by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf after a judge from the Court of Appeal , Lord Justice Dyson was summoned for jury service in June 2004, 2 months after the rules of jury service were changed? (6)

Answer 23

that. .:
- a judge serves on a jury as part of his duty as a private citizen
- excusal from jury service will only be granted in exceptional circumstances
- deferral of jury service to a later date should be sought where a judge has judicial commitments which make it particularly inconvenient for him to do a jury service
- if the judge knows the presiding judge other person on the case, should raise this to the jury bailiff
- it is a matter of discretion for an individual judge sitting as a juror as to whether he discloses the fact of his judicial office to other members of the jury
- judges must follow the directions given to the jury by the trial judge and avoid temptation to correct guidance as this is outside their role as a juror

Question 24

As well as judges, who else does the point about letting the court know when someone involved in the case is personally known to the juror also relevant?

Answer 24

to practising lawyers who are called for jury service