lay people juries and magistrates Flashcards
magistrates - 6 formal requirements
-aged 18/75 on appointment -british, irish or common wealth citizen -in good health -live close to the court -satisfactory hearing -able to sit for 26 half days
magistrates - 6 key qualities
-good character -understanding and communication -social awareness -maturing and sound temperament -sound judgement -commitment and reliability
magistrates must…
agree to take an oath of allegiance, disclose any criminal convictions and civil orders and they may not qualify if there job leads to a conflict of interest
magistrates - selection
- appointed by lord chief justice 2. vacancies advertised on radio and local newspapers 3. 1st interview with local advisory committee 4. 2nd interview-case studies and background checks
magistrates - appointment
- passed to lord chief justice 2. delegates to presiding judge of England and Wales 3. officially appoints lat magistrate on behalf of the king
magistrates - role in criminal courts
sit in bench of 3, all cases start in magistrates court, all summary and some TEW, in charge of mode of trial hearings, can grant or refuse bail (police and criminal evidence act 1984), can transfer cases to CC and can hear appeals there, can work in youth court, max sentence of 12 month and unlimited fine (sentencing act 2020)
jury - qualifications
the jury act 1974 and the criminal justice act 2005, have background checks, aged 18-75, on electoral role, regestered foe 5 or more years
jury - permanent disqualification
5 year in prison, extended sentence, life imprisonment, suspended sentence, on bail, community order
jury - 10 year disqualification
served a sentence, less than 5 years in prison, suspended sentence, community order
jury - excual
don’t need to do jury service. if not excused and don’t turn up can be fined up to £1,000
jury - deferral
jury service is put back to a later date, anyone can apply to be deferred up to 12 months. reasons- exams, operation, pre-booked holidays
jury - selection
randomly by jury summoning bureau, can be vetted by police, summons letter received by post stating they must attend court, 15 people chosen then 12 chosen from 15, once selected they’re swarn in
jury - challenges
challenge for cause, challenge to the array, prosecution right to stand by
jury - challenge for cause
known to the witness or the D or connected to the case (wilson and sparson)
jury - challenge to the array
jury is unrepresented (the romford jury)
jury - prosecution right to stand by
allows jurors who have been stood by to be put at the end of the list so they wont be used unless there’s not enough jurors
jury - criminal cases
hear evidence and decide verdict, unanimous vote, anything discussed cannot be disclosed-concept of court act 1981, decide D’s guilt, formans picked from jury to disclose decision, indictable and TEW offences, criminal justice act 2003 makes criminal offence to intentionally disclose
jury - civil courts
rare, 8 members, cases:defamation,fraud,false imprisonment,malicious prosecution, in defamation cases they decide D’s liability and how much compensation
juries - rules for civil courts kept in…
senior courts act 1981-high court cases, county courts act 1984-county courts, coroners and justice act 2009-coroners inquiries
juries - evaluation advantages
secrecy of the jury room, open system of justice-public get a say, impartiality, jury equity-no reason for verdict
juries - evaluation disadvantages
secrecy-don’t know if they understand the case, racial bias, media influence, juries and the internet-S71 criminal justice and courts act 2015
