Selecting a jury Flashcards
Who is responsible for selecting a jury?
at each Crown Court there is an official who is responsible for summonsing enough jurors to try the cases that will be heard in every 2 week period
How will the official at the Crown Court, who is responsible for summonsing enough jurors to try the cases heard in every 2 week period ,select?
official will arrange for names to be selected at random from the electoral register for the area it covers through a computer selection at a central office
How many will the official at the Crown Court summon for jury service?
always more than 12 jurors as most courts have more than one courtroom and it will not be known how many of those summonsed are disqualified or will be excused
In bigger courts, how many people will be summonsed each fortnight?
150
How long are those summonsed expected to attend jury service?
2 weeks , unless the trial foes on for more then 2 weeks and so will have to stay until the trial is completed
Where it is known that a trial may be exceptionally long, such as a complicated fraud trial , what are potential jurors asked?
if they will be able to serve for such a long period
once the potential jurors are known , who are allowed access to the list?
the prosecution and defence
It can be decided for potential jurors to be ‘vetted’ to check for suitability.
What are the two types of vetting?
- routine police checks
- wider background checks
Why are routine police checks used?
Routine police checks are made on prospective jurors to eliminate those disqualified
In what case was a routine police check used?
R v Mason
In R v Mason, what did the Court of Appeal rule?
that the police were only doing their normal duty of preventing crime by checking for criminal records
What case brought out the practise of a wider check of a jurors background and political affiliations?
the ‘ABC’ trial in 1978
What happened in the ‘ABC’ trial in 1978 which brought in the practise of a wider check of a jurors background and political affiliations?
two journalists and a soldier were charged with collecting secret information. Jury had been vetted for their loyalty. Trial was stopped and a new trial ordered a fresh jury.
As a result, the Attorney General published guidelines on when political vetting of jurors should take place
What happened as a result of the ABC trial in 1978?
The Attorney General published guidelines on when political vetting of jurors should take place
What were the guidelines stated by the Attorney General after the ABC trial in 1978? (2)
a) vetting should only be used in exceptional circumstances
i) involving national security where part of the evidence is likely to be given in camera
ii) terrorist cases
b) vetting can only be carried out with the Attorney Generals express permission
During selection at court, how many jurors are divided and allocated to a court each?
15
At the start of the trial, who selects the 12 out of the 15 allocated to a court?
the court clerk at random
On arrival at the court, what are the jurors shown and what does this tell them?
Jurors are shown a DVD explaining the layout of the court and procedure & how to behave such as not discussing the case with other people
After the court clerk has selected the panel of 12 jurors, they are sworn in as jurors in the jury box. However, before they are sworn in, what does the prosecution and defence have the right to ?
have certain rights to challenge one or more of the prosecutors
What are the 2 rights of the defence and prosecution as well as the extra special right of the prosecution to challenge the jurors?
- to the array
- for cause
- prosecution right to stand by jurors
what is ‘to the array’?
this is a right to challenge the whole jury on the basis that it has been chosen in an unrepresentative or biased way
What power allows the challenge ‘to the array’?
s.5 of the Juries Act 1974
When was the challenge ‘to the array’ under s.5 of the Juries Act 1974 successful ?why?
the challenge ‘to the array’ was successful against ‘Romford’ jury at the Old Bailey in 1993 when 9 out of 12 jurors came from Romford , 2 of them living within 20 doors of each other in the same street
What happened in R v Fraser 1987 in relation to the challenge ‘to the array’?
the defendant was of an ethnic minority background buy all jurors were white . Judge empanelled another jury.
What happened in R v Ford 1989, in contrast to R v Fraser 1987?
it was held that if the jury was chosen in a random manner then it could not be challenged due to it not being multi-racial
What is the challenge ‘for cause’ which is available to the prosecution and defence ?
this involves challenging the right of an individual juror to sit on the jury.
How can the challenge ‘for cause’ be successful?
the challenge must point out a vlid reason why that juror shelled not serve on the jury such as disqualification, of related to a witness or defendant
What overall happened in R v Wilson and R v Sprason 1995?
a wife of a prison officer was on the jury after asking to be excused and refused. Court of Appeal later rule that justice was not seen to be done and so the convictions had to be quashed
What is Prosecution right to stand by jurors?
This is a right which allows the juror who has been stood by to put to the end of the list of potential jurors so that they will not be used on the jury unless there are not enough other jurors
how can the prosecution have the right to stand by jurors?
the prosecution does not have to give a reason for ‘standing by’ but the Attorney Generals guidelines make it clear that this power should be used sparingly
