LA1: Jury System* Flashcards
History and Independence
History
Juries have been used for over 1,000 years. Magna Carta 1215 said everyone has right to ‘trial by his peers’. Women excluded until Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919. Juries in most civil cases has been stopped because of the cost. CJA 2003 has taken away right to trial by jury in 2 classes of serious cases: Indictment or ‘Seroius Fraud Cases’ where there is a risk of Jury tampering.
Independence
Bushel’s Case 1670, judge tried to force jury to make quakers guilty of ‘unlawful assembly’. He had locked them up overnight without food, water or heat and fined them when they gave a verdict of ‘not guilty’ and put them in prison.
Court of Appeal ordered jury to be released snd stated that jurors couldn’t be punished for their verdict. This case established that the Jury was the sole arbiters of fact and the judge couldn’t challenge their decision.
Modern Use of the Jury
Juries are extremely expensive to use, in Crown they cost an average of £5000 per day, Magistrates costs only £500. Only a small Percentage of cases use a jury, some civil cases also use a jury.
Juries are used in 4 courts:
Crown
12 Jurors, Decide Guilty or Not Guilty, Used in about 3% of cases.
High
12 Jurors, Decide For or Against Claimant and Damages to be Awarded, used in 3 types of case & judge can refuse jury if case is too long,complex etc.
Coroner’s
7-11 Jurors, Decide Cause of Death, Only certain types of ‘death’ need a jury e.g. Death in Police Custody.
County
8 Jurors, Decide for or Against Claimant, Jury hasn’t been used in over 40 years.
Juries In Criminal Cases
Juries in Civil Cases
Criminal
Decide whether Guilty or Not Guilty, used in most serious cases e.g. Murder.
Civil
Under Supreme Courts Act 1981 used in 3 types of case:
Malicious Prosecution, Fasle Imprisonment and Fraud.
(Were also used in Defamation Cases but this was stopped in 2011 under S11 Deamation Act 2013)
Under County Courts Act 1984 juries can be used in the county court, however, they haven’t been used in over 40 years. This is because juries can give excessively high damages in slander and libel actions, they were disproportionate with damages awarded in negligence cases.
Jury Trials have died out Because:
- They give excessive damages.*
- They never have to give reasons for decisions*- makes it hard to Appeal.
- Cost of using a Jury is too high.*
Juries in Coroner’s Courts
The Coroner is a doctor or lawyer responsibe for investigating deaths in particular situations. They can hold an inquest into the cause of death. Juries will be used where the death: Was Violent or Unnatural, Took place in a Prison or Police custody, When the Cause of Death is still Uncertain after Post-Mortem.
Jury must deide which verdicts are available, the most common are: Death by Natural Causes, Death by Misadventure. Accidental Death, Lawful Killing, Suicide, Unlawul Killing and Open Verdict.
One of the most famous cases was the Death of Princess Diana: Jury decided she had been Unlafully Killed by negligent driver. case lasted 6 months, had 250 witnesses and cost exceeded £12.5 million.
Appointment of Jury
Eligible Jurors:
S1 Juries Act 1974 says a person must be:
- Aged 18-70 and registered on Electoral Roll. (Will be moved up to 75.)
- Have Lived in UK for 5 years since Age 13.
- Not Mentally Disordered or Disqualified.
Ineligible Jurors:
CJA 2003 says person who suffers from: Mental Illness, Psychopathic Disorder, Mental Handicap and due to this regualrly attends treatment or is a resident in hospital.
Disqualified Jurors:
Disqualified if:
- On Bail
- In Last 10 yrs served sentence, community order or suspended sentence
- Served 5+ yrs imprisonment
- On Probation or Recieving Drug treatment.
Permenantly Disqualified If:
- Imprisoned for life
- Detention During Her Majesty’s Pleasure
- Imprisoned for Public Protection
- Have an extended sentence
If you are Disqualified and turn up without telling anyone, you can be fined up to £5,000.
Appointment Of Jury: Excusal
Members of the Armed forces have the right to be excused if their commanding officer confirms, in writing, it will interfere with the efficiency of the Services.
Anyone aged 65-70 has the right to be excused if they don’t want to do it.
CJA 2003 ammended juries Act 1974,
Doctors, Surgeons, Barristers, Solicitors, Judges, Police etc. now have to do jury service.
Discretionary Excusals can be given under Juries Act 1974 which means a person can asked to be excused but it is up to the judge to decide. Judge can also excuse someone who lacks Mental Capacity.
S9B Juries Act 1974 says being disabled doesn’t prevent someone fro doing Jury Service, Judge can only excuse if Juror isn’t capable of being an effective Juror.
Re. Osman 1995
Deaf man prevented from being a juror. He wanted to bring a sign language interpreter but the judge pointed out that this would mean an extra person in the Jury Room and law didn’t allow this.
Jury Selecting
Jury Summoning is done by the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB). Acomputer randomly selects Jurors for all Crown Courts around the country. The Summon’s is a document that details the date and time of the jury service and what can be expected.
Those summoned should notify the Court if there is any reason why the should not/cannot attend.
All others are expected to attend for 2 week’s, though cases can go on for longer. This means the jury will have to stay until the trial is over.
Jury Vetting
The Prosecution and Defence have the right to see the list of Jurors, In some cases the Jury may need to be Vetted.
There are 2 Types of Jury Vetting:
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Check: Now automatically conducted on each Juror to assess qualification against Jury Criteria. Carried out Via Computer link established between Police and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
Authrised Jury Check: May involve CRB, Special Branch Records or Security Checks. Can be authorised by A-G in accordance with AG Guidelines on Jury Checks.
ABC Trials 1978
Second type of Vetting came to light when 2 Journalists and a Soldier were charged with collecting secret information. They had Vetted the Jury for their ‘Loyalty’ to their country. The trial was stopped and a new trial took place before a new Jury. AG then published guidelines on when political vetting should take place.
Challenging Jurors
Jurors turn up to court and are divided into groups of 15 then allocated a court room. The court Clerk selects 12 out of 15 jurors by selecting names out of a hat. The jurors must be anonmous so the members of the Jury can be challenged if the P or D think they shouldn’t be on the Jury.
They can do this through 3 methods:
Challenging For Cause
This involves challenging an individual’s right to sit on the Jury. The challenger must point out a valid reason why the juror cannot sit e.g. if they are disqualified or a relative. If these people aren’t removed, the conviction could be quashed.
Challenging The Array
This is the right to challenge a whole Jury, which can be done if they think the Jury is bias or unrepresentative. For example the Romford Jury in 1993 had 9 jurors from Romford, 2 of which lived on the same street.
Prosecution can ‘Stand By’ Jurors
They can stand by a juror and put them at the end of the list of potential Jurors. They won’t be used unless there aren’t enough members on the Jury.
Role Of Jury
Listening To Evidence
Jury must listen to both sides presenting their arguments. The are encouraged to take noted and they can ask questions relating to the trial by writting notes which are given to the judge. At the end of the arguments, the judge will summarise facts and clarify the law.
Reaching A Verdict
The Jury leaves the court room and enters a private room to discuss the case. Only the Jurors can hear discussion, they cannot tell others what was said in this room. Jurors must take votes on the outcome of the case, they must reach a verdict upon which they all agree. However, if they don’t agree, they must return to the court where the judge will tell them they can reac a majority verdict.
Announcing A Verdict
The Foreman of the Jury will announce the verdict and say whether it was unanimous or majority. If Majority, the Foreman must say how many Jurors agreed.
Discharging The Jury
Once they have reached a verdict, the Jury is done and they are thanked for their service.
Advantages
- Public Confidence in Jury System: Bar council and law society found over 80% people in survey had more confidence in jury than other members of justice system. They ar thought to be fair and follow ‘spirit’ of law, which is known as Jury Equity.
R v Owen 1992
Owen tried to murder Kevin Taylor. Taylor had killed Owen’s son by dangerous driving. Once out of prison he had taunted the family and vandalised the boy’s grave, the Owen’s had to move it to a secret location. Jury found Owen not guilty.
- Juries are Impartial: Evidence suggests it’s harder to persuade a Jury someone is guilty. This is because they aren’t case hardened and don’t experience the same excuses being used over and over. Having 12 jurors also means extreme views are overwhelmed by majority of normal views.
- Secrecy of Jury Room: Jury isn’t pressured to expalin why they gave a verdict and they are protected from pressure and outside influence.
Disadvantages
- Secrecy of Jury Room: May not look at evidence, could decide by just flipping a coin. We don’t knw if they are being biased e.g. racism and prejudice.
R v Young
Jury misbehaved when staying in Hotel. 4 Jurors contacted a victim using an Ouija Board. They found Young Guilty the next day. A juror told what happened, which was ok because jotel was outside Jury Room. Young’s conviction was quashed.
- Perverse Verdicts: Jury could have gone against evidence and decided on what they thought was right.
- Can be Influence by Internet: Some Jurors might research case, which can influence decision and cause cases to be quashed. June 2011 a juror contacted a defendant via Facebook, Causing a £6 Million Drug Trial to collapse.
Civil Cases
Jury can be too generous when giving damages e.g.
Sonya Sutcliffe (Yorkshire Ripper Wife) awarded £6 Million damages after Private Eye Magazine claimed she knew her husband was the killer.
