Key Q - Crime Flashcards
What is the Key Question?
Should jury bias lead to the abolition of juries?
What is a Modern British Jury?
- Body of 12 people
- They listen to the evidence relating to a crime
- They come to a verdict of guilty or not guilty
- They don’t have to explain the reasons for their decisions
What is the Notion at the Foundation of the British Legal System?
Anyone accused of a crime should have the right to be tried in front of their peers
Why are Juries seen as Important in our Society?
- A jury acts as a balance on the state + court power
- A jury should help to prevent laws being in forced with which the population doesn’t agree
- The jury system emphasises that the criminal law is about the state + society setting rules of conduct, rather than legal professionals who may be biased
- The law needs to be an expression of the morals of society
How can the Justice System Become Undermined Due to Juries?
If juries are incompetent and biased
Why are Juries seen as Important in our Society for Individual Defendants?
- Decisions of a jury can have profound implications
- Such as life imprisonment, the work they can undertake in the future, + life or death
- So, it should be considered if a defendant should entrust their life to the first 12 people who are randomly called
What Solutions or Alternatives are there to Improve or Replace Jury Trial?
- If juries were acquired to give reasons when they convict, but were still permitted if they wish to acquit without giving reasons
- To improve quality control - instead of selecting jury members at random, people could apply to do jury service + a train for it, or jury sits with judge + deliberates with them
What are the Arguments which Support Juries?
- Trial by jury is seen as one of the fundamental elements of a democratic society
- Public confidence in the jury system is high - Lord Devlin supported
- Jury equity - juries are seen to decide on fairness not just the law - Kronlid (1996), Ponting (1985)
- Allows ordinary people to take part in the administration of justice
- Lawyers have to explain matters simply thus allowing the defendant and public to follow proceedings
- Juries can use their power to protest against areas of the law they feel are unjust - justice is seen to be done, there is transparency in the justice system which increases public confidence
What are the Arguments which Don’t Support Juries?
- Very slow - e.g. Vickey Price trial took 6 days, in which the evidence was very simple
- Very expensive - because it’s slow + it happens in the Crown Court
- It’s accident prone - jurors have previously got drunk beforehand + have been in contact with people outside of the jury about the trial
- Its inherent in putting 12 inexperienced people selected at random from the population + leaving them to decide without giving any reason for their decision
- Problems of quality control in jury - most people who are called for the jury service are serious + can see that the serious ones predominate, you need to be reasonably mature,intelligent + have confidence, but this isn’t always the case
What is the Case of Kasim Davey (2013) which Shows Prejudice in a Juror?
- He wrote a strongly worded Facebook message during the trial of a man for sex offences, suggesting that he was going to find the defendant guilty
- Davey summoned to the High Court + ruled that he interfered w/ administration of justice
- Defendant was eventually found guilty of sexual activity with a child
- Davey told the High Court he was unaware he had been in breach of a formal order made by the Crown Court judge
How does the Evidence from Pfieffer and Ogloff (1991) Support Race as a Factor which causes Jury Bias?
- White mock jurors were more likely to say that a black defendant was guilty
- But, this evidence was based on students acting as mock juros, so can’t conclude that the finding will convey to real life
How does the Evidence from Bradbury and Williams (2013) Support Race as a Factor which causes Jury Bias?
- Juries comprised of predominantly white jurors were more likely to convict black defendants, as were juries made up of mostly Hispanic jurors
- Juries comprising of higher % of black juror were less likely to convict black defendant
- This may be due to in group bias + out group bias
How does the Evidence from Skolnick and Shaw (1997) Support Race as a Factor which causes Jury Bias?
- Ps = 213 black + white students, who became mock jurors
- Black defendants received fewer guilty verdicts + white defendants received more guilty verdicts from black jurors
- So, the race of the juror and defendant are important
How does the Evidence from Sigall and Osgrove (1975) Support Attractiveness as a Factor which causes Jury Bias?
- More attractive defendants received shorter sentences for burglary, but longer for fraud
- So, unattractive people are more likely to be deemed criminal + receive harsher sentences
How does the Evidence from Castellow et al (1990) Support Attractiveness as a Factor which causes Jury Bias?
- Found that a guilty judgement was most likely when a female secretary was attractive and the male was unattractive
- So, juries make judgements about the motives and character of the defendant based upon appearance
