Lay people Flashcards
Magistrates and Juries
What are Magistrates?
Magistrates are unpaid volunteer judges, They deal with over over 95% of criminal cases and they work in a bench of three (one being a clerk)
Role of Magistrates
Their role is to listen to the evidence and decide, based on findings of fact, whether defendant is innocent or guilty.
Hear less serious cases
Commit serious cases to crown court
Do bail applications and Fine enforcements
Permit search warrants
Qualifications needed to become a Magistrate
No formal qualifications required
MUST BE 18-65yrs (Retire at 70)
MUST serve for 5 years
MUST BE Available for 13 days or 26 half - days per year.
What can prevent someone from becoming a Magistrate?
- If they are guilty of a serious crime or minor offence
- If they have been declared bankrupt or banned from driving in the last 5-10 years
- If have conflict of interest (police officers)
Six key Qualities to become a Magistrate
- Good character
- Understanding + Communication
- Social awareness
- Maturity
- Sound judgement
- Commitment + Reliability
Must take an oath of Allegiance and disclose all criminal convictions + Civil orders
How does selection of magistrates work?
Ad in local paper
Apply in home or work area
Fill in application
1st interview with Local Advisory Committee
2nd interview - Background checks
View of LAC sent to Lord Chancellor and SoS for Justice
APPOINTED
Advantages of Magistrates
- In expensive, They are cheap as they are unpaid
- They also represent the population in terms of gender and ethnicity (representative)
- Their local knowledge, time is saved by not having to explain the location of crime
In PAUL V DPP CASE - Magistrates knew the area so knew that kerb crawling was a real problem there.
Disadvantages of Magistrates
- Are unrepresentative in terms of AGE 55% of magistrates in 2018 were 60 and over and only 1% came from the 18-29 age bracket
- Most come from a professional background, so again not representative or wider population
- Inconsistent in their sentencing, and this does not seem to improve despite the amount of training they are given.
Saying by Lord Devlin
Trial by Jury is more than an instrument of justice and more than one wheel of constitution
Qualifications to become a Juror
- Must be 18 - 65yr old
- Must be registered on the electrical register
- Must be resident of UK for 5 years from age 13
What makes someone not eligible to become a juror
If someone has a mental disorder
What makes someone DISQUALIFED for serving as a juror?
- If person is on bail
- Served 5 or more years in prison
- Been in prison for public protection
What TEMPORARILY prevents someone from serving as a juror?
CANNOT SERVER FOR 10 YEARS AFTER SERVERING:
- Have a suspended sentence
- Have a community order
- Served any time in prison
When is a defered (delayed) severing allowed?
Juries
Must be for good reason:
- Exams
- Operations
- Pre - booked Holidays
HOWEVER, They will have to carry out their jury service in the next 12 months
When can someone be excused from serving in a jury?
Person can be excused if they have severed in the previous two years, works in armed forces or is a member of parliament.
Selection + Appointment - Juries
- Selected at random
- Summoned
- Identity confirmed
- 15 Chosen at random - attend Jury pool
- 12 Selected randomly
- Sworn in
Have to do police checks - Vetting
And an authorised jury check
Why is it important that a Jury is randomly selected?
Because a jury must be independent and impartial
Challenge for cause - Juries
Challenge for cause is where an individual juror is challenged for a cause or a reason. (e.g. they are recognised by one of the parties in the case)
Challenge to array - Juries
Challenge to array is rare
- Such a challenge would be made if the whole Jury is considered to be unrepresentative
What is the role of Juries?
Juries should listen to the evidence and submissions from the barristers.
They should listen to the judges summing up and decide the facts of the case.
They should apply the law, as explained to them by the Judge to the facts.
After this they retire to the jury room where they have a secret discussion in order to come to their verdict. (Based on the facts)
Advantages of a Jury
Allows public participation in the justice system
- Increases public confidence in the system
Jurors can decide cases according to their own consciences rather than the letter of the law
- Important as it allows the Jury to reject prosecutions they see as unjustified or politically motivated
Disadvantages of a Jury
Juries do not have to give reasons for their decisions. Although this speeds up trial process, it means individual jurors could give their verdict on a whim rather than according to the law.
- There is no way of finding out about this unless a juror complains (R v Young)
Juries can sometimes arrive at perverse verdicts, this can be argued to damage public confidence in the jury system
- There are concerns that jurors may lack the ability to do an effective job.
Alternatives to Juries
A single Judge or a panel of judges:
+ Quicker, perverse verdicts are less likely
- Remove public participation
Professional Jurors:
+ “
- “
What is a Perverse Verdict?
A verdict of a jury that is entirely against the weight of evidence or contrary to the judges direction on a question of law.
To stand by - Juries
Prosecution ask for juror to put to the bottom of the list
