Juries

When are juries used?

Criminal cases

What are the qualifications o be selected for jury duty?

• 18 - 76 years old

• On electoral role

• Resident in the UK for at least 5 years from their 13th birthday

• Must not be detained under mental health order or disqualified

Name 4 things which permanently disqualify someone from jury duty

• Imprisonment for life

• Detained in prison

• Imprisoned for public protection

• Term of imprisonment for 5 years or more

Can a person on bail be qualified for jury duty?

No

Name 3 things which disqualify someone for 10 years

• Served a sentence of imprisonment

• Have a suspended sentence

• Had a community sentence

What happens if someone fails to disclose their disqualification?

£5000 fines

What may cause a person to lack the capacity for jury duty?

• They do not adequately understand English

• They have a disability which prevents them form serving effectively

What act allows deaf jurors to serve?

Police, Crime and Sentencing Act 2022

What is it an offence for interpreters to do in relation to deaf jurors?

Do anything that would influence the jury other than interpret proceedings

What are some reasons people may apply for excusals?

• Illness

• Disability

• Hospital appointments

• Having a young baby

• Being over 70

• Business meetings that cannot be changed

• Exams

• Pre-booked holidays

• Essential medical work

Explain excusals for members of armed forces

Full time members of armed forces can be excused if their commanding officer certifies that their absence from the force would be prejudicial to the efficiency of the service; Their duty will be deferred to a later date.

What happens if an excusals is successful?

Jury service is deferred to a later date at a more convenient time

Who is responsible for sending summons?

Crown Court Official

Where are jurors selected from?

Selected randomly Rom electoral register of local area

What are more than 12 jurors summoned for each case?

To account from excusals and disqualifications

Do all jurors stay for the whole process?

Yes - the whole two weeks

What are the two types of vetting?

• DBS checks

• Authorised Jury Checks

Explain DBS checks

Basic background check which identifies anyone who is disqualified

Explain authorised jury checks

• Check the jurors background and political affiliation

• Only possible if the attorney general consents

• Case is exceptional and involves matters of national security

Who must approve an authorised jury check?

Attorney General

How many jurors are allocated per case?

15

Who randomly selects 12 jurors from the 15 allocated?

Court clerk

Explain challenge to the array

Either party can challenge unrepresentative or bias juries

Why was the Romford trial challenged for array?

9 jurors from Romford

Why was the jury challenged in R V Fraser?

The jurors were all white

What did R V Ford clarify?

A jury cannot be challenged simply because its not multicultural

What section and act allows challenge to the array?

S5 Juries Act 1974

Explain challenge for cause

For some reason the juror can’t serve such as disqualification or knowing the party in proceedings; If this is not done the conviction may end up being quashed

Explain prosecution right to stand by

Prosecution can put juror to the back of the list; They do not need to give reasons for doing this

What happens once challenges are dealt with?

Individual are sworn in by swearing an oath they will try D faithfully on the evidence and then the case begins

What are the differences between what judges decide and what juries decide?

Juries decide matters of fact, judges decide matters of law

Can judges influence juries?

They cannot direct a conviction by may direct an acquittal if there is insufficient evidence in law for the crime to have happened

What is the role of the jury?

• Listen to the entire trial and at the end the judge will sum up the relevant law and provide a summary of the evidence

• Jury will then retire to determine the defendants guilt - the judge will wait 2 hours for a unanimous verdict

Who announced the juries verdict and how?

Foreman who is elected by the jury; they must state in ordinary plain language how many jurors agreed on the verdict

What case states it must be clear to the ordinary person how the jury was divided?

R V Pigg

Explain public confidence as an advantage of Juries

The public is give a clear view of the justice system being fair which increases their faith in it

Explain jury equity as an advantage of Juries

Juries are not bound to follow precedents or acts of parliament meaning they can make decisions based on their conscious and focus on fairness

Explain having an open system of justice as an advantage of Juries

Anyone can sit in court meaning public confidence increases as they can see justice being achieved; Judges will also be explaining the law which increases legal awareness

Explain the secrecy of the jury room as an advantage of Juries

The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 means it is an offence to disclose what was said in the jury room; This means juries can make their decisions free from outside influence and are free to make unpopular decisions

What act protects secrecy of the jury room?

Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015

Explain impartiality as an advantage of Juries

Juries are not connect to the case and randomly selected meaning it should reflect a cross section of society; This removes any bias allowing them to make a fair decision

Explain representation as an advantage of Juries

They are more representative than judges who often come from very similar backgrounds i.e. wealthy, educated, often white and male

Explain the selection process as a disadvantage of Juries

The selection process excludes certain groups if they are not on the electoral register such as homeless people; This means all views are not necessarily represented within a jury

Explain the risk of perverse decisions as a disadvantage of Juries

Juries are not required too justify their decision or follow the law which can lead to a loss of public confidence as unfair decisions can be made

What did the Runican report reveal?

Around 10% of jurors had difficulties understanding the case and 0.2% did not understand English well enough to follow the case

Explain external events as a disadvantage of Juries

There is no way of knowing what outside influences the jurors have been subject to which may be influencing their opinion; For example R V Young used a ouija board to contact the murderers victims

In which case did the Jurors use a ouija board to contact the murder victim?

R V Young

Explain bias as a disadvantage of Juries

Jurors may be prejudice which can affect both deliberation and the overall verdict; In the case of Sander v UK racist comments made by jurors did not lead to their dismissal

In which case were racist comments made by jurors?

Sander V UK

How can media and internet be a disadvantage of Juries?

High profile cases will naturally gain more public attention which may influence jurors; Similarly, whilst jurors are told not to, 12% look up the case information which may sway their opinion

What report revealed 12% of jurors look up the case information?

12%

What act makes it an offence to look up the defendant or any other Jurors?

S71 of Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015

Explain why complex cases are a disadvantage of Juries

The juries role of deciding matter of fact is undermined when they do not understand complex cases; 31% of Jurors actually understood instruction given by the Judge in a complex fraud trial

According to the Ministry of Justice report, what percentage of Jurors actually understood the judges instructions?

31%

Explain Jury tampering as a disadvantage of Juries

Juries can be interfered with and threatened in order to sway the verdict

Why are some cases harmful for juries?

Cases can be traumatic and violent which may affect the jurors; Counselling is offer only in the most horrific cases. This may rush a decisions and juries want it to be over and done with.