Selecting a jury - Criticisms of selection

Question 1

Why is the use of electoral registers open to critique?

Answer 1

as it does not always give a representative sample of the population such as homeless people who cannot register to vote

Question 2

Who are not represented by electoral registers?

Answer 2

• homeless people
• many young people
• those who change address frequently

Question 3

What did studies in the 1970’s&80’s find about juries?

Answer 3

that juries in some areas were not truly representative in gender, fewer women, age , fewer young people, and race, under representative of ethnic minorities

Question 4

What did a study, “Diversity and Fairness in the Jury System’’ published in 2007 looking at juries in 2003 and 2005 find?

Answer 4

that juries are now representative of gender, race and age , having only the lower classes and unemployed people underrepresented

Question 5

What study published in 2007 looking at juries in 2003 and 2005 found that juries are now representative of gender, age and race?

Answer 5

“Diversity and Fairness in the Jury System”

Question 6

What is a criticism of disqualified jurors?

Answer 6

Although many checks are carried out, many disqualified people fail to disclose the fact and sit on juries

Question 7

What did one survey of Inner London juries estimate?

Answer 7

that 1 in every 24 jurors were disqualified

Question 8

What happened in one instance at Snaresbrook Crown Court?

Answer 8

a man with 15 previous convictions sat as a juror in 3 cases and was the jury foreman in two of them later admitting that as far as his concern, all defendants were not guilty unless they ‘had been molesting children’

Question 9

What can too many discretionary excusals lead to?

Answer 9

can lead to an unrepresentative jury

Question 10

Why is there criticism of the Prosecutions right to stand by?

Answer 10

because the prosecutions right to stand by was kept even when the defences peremptory challenge was withdrawn

Question 11

Why is the Prosecutions right to stand by seen as giving the prosecution an advantage due to the withdrawal of the defences peremptory challenge ?

Answer 11

seen as ‘rigging’ the jury particularly combined with vetting

Question 12

What case demonstrates that even when a jury has been vetted it does not always give the prosecution an advantage ?

Answer 12

Ponting’s Case 1985

Question 13

What happened in Ponting’s Case 1985

Answer 13

the defendant was charged with an offence against the Official Secrets Act and the jury was vetted. Despite the vetting the jury return a not guilty verdict