Advantages / Disadvantages of Jury Trials

Choose 3, with a mixture of advantages and disadvantages

1. (Part 1) What has been proposed surrounding jury trials?

Jury trial has come under close scrutiny in recent years, with many people proposing to limit its availability.

2. (Part 1) Who argues in favour of keeping jury trials and why?

However, there are those, particularly in the legal profession, who argue strongly in favour of keeping it. They argue it instils confidence in the public.

3. (Part 1) What did Lord Devlin say about jury trials?

Indeed, Lord Devlin said that it is the ‘lamp that shows that freedom lives’.

4. (Part 1) What do those in favour of keeping jury trials believe?

They believe that a defendant charged with a serious criminal offence has the right to be tried by their peers.

5. (Part 2) What do supporters of juries argue about jurors and what is this called?

They also argue that a jury will exercise common sense rather than simply following the letter of the law. This is called jury equity.

6. (Part 2) In what case was jury equity demonstrated?

This can be illustrated in the case of Clive Ponting, a civil servant who had released information about the sinking of an Argentinian ship at the start of the Falklands War in 1982.

7. (Part 2) What did the judge direct in Clive Ponting and what was the outcome?

The judge directed the jury that Clive Ponting had no defence. However, the jury found him ‘not guilty’, possibly because they believed that the public had a right to the information.

8. (Part 3) What is argued about the secrecy of the jury room?

In addition, it is argued that the secrecy of the jury room is a protection.

9. (Part 3) How does the secrecy of deliberation protect jurors?

As the jury does not have to give any reasons for its decision, or to announce who voted guilty or not guilty, individual jurors are unlikely to be targeted afterwards by friends of the convicted person.

10. (Part 3) Can secrecy be a disadvantage?

However, secrecy can be a disadvantage.

11. (Part 3) What happened in Young?

In Young, the jury decided to use an ouija board to find that the defendant was guilty of murder. Luckily, one of the jury later spoke out, or an innocent person might have ended up serving a life sentence.

12. (Part 4) Are there difficulties with jury trials?

There are also many difficulties with jury trials.

13. (Part 4) What is a disadvantage relating to jurors’ understanding?

One is that a jury will have difficulty in understanding complex cases.

14. (Part 4) What cases in particular may a jury struggle to understand?

This is particularly true for serious fraud cases.

15. (Part 4) What happened in the trial involving the directors of Guinness?

For example, the directors of Guinness, the brewing company, were convicted of fraud after a lengthy trial dealing with complicated accounting procedures. Even experts found this material difficult to understand.

16. (Part 4) What proposals have come out of serious fraud cases relating to juries?

It is for this reason that there have been frequent proposals to get rid of trial by jury for serious fraud cases.

17. (Part 5) What can jury equity lead to and in what case did it occur?

Secondly, jury equity can lead to so-called perverse decisions, as in the case of Randle and Pottle.

18. (Part 5) What happened in Randle and Pottle?

The two defendants were found not guilty of helping the convicted spy, George Blake, escape from prison, even though they had confessed to the crime in a book that they had written.

19. (Part 5) What did the jury possibly feel in Randle and Pottle?

The jury possibly felt that the case should not have been brought as over twenty years had passed between their offence and the trial.

20. (Part 6) What can media influence promote?

Media influence can also promote a lack of confidence in jury trial.

21. (Part 6) What happened in Taylor and Taylor 1993?

In Taylor and Taylor 1993, two sisters were charged with murder. Some newspapers published still photos taken from a video which gave a false impression of what was happening.

22. (Part 6) Why was leave to appeal granted in Taylor v Taylor 1993 and what did the CoA do?

After the jury convicted, the judge gave leave to appeal because of the possible influence the picture could have had on the jury’s verdict. The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions.

23. (Conclusion) Why do have jury trials have value overall?

Overall, it could be suggested that jury trials do have value as, despite some recent reforms, the system of trial by peers has remained since 1215.