Juries

Juries

Role of Juries
1. Criminal
  1. Juries are used to try cases at the crown court when a defendant has pleaded not guity.
  2. Juries only try either way and indictable cases which make up about 1% of all cases.
  3. The 12 members of the jury decide on the facts of the case and come to a verdict in a private room.
  4. They should try to reach a unanimous verdict but most judges will accept a majority verdict. The decision for the verdict does not have to be given.
2. Civil
  1. Juries are only used in certain civil case which involve; Defamation, False imprisonment, Malicious prosecution and Fraud.
  2. They will make a decision on who is liable and decide the amount of damages that are awarded.
  3. No reason has to be given for the amount or decision awarded by the jury.
Qualifications and Selections
1. Qualifications
  1. There are three basic qualifications that are need to be on a jury.
    1. Aged between 18-70
    2. Registered as a parliamentary or local government elector.
    3. Have been a UK resident for at least 5 years since your 13th birthday.
  2. Disqualified
    1. Some criminal convictions will disqualifiy you from jury service
      1. Have been sentenced to life imprisonment or a custodial sentence of five years or more.
      2. Have been subject to a community based Punishment Order in the last 10 years.
      3. You are currently on bail.
  3. Ineligible
    1. If you suffer from certain mental disorders then you may be ineligible.
  4. Right to be excused
    1. If you are serving in the armed forces and your commanding officer certifies that you are needed.
    2. Those aged over 65.
    3. Anyone who has served on a jury in the last 2 years.
2. Selection
  1. The selection process starts a the Centaral Summoning Bureau, they randomly select names from the electoral register.
    1. Those who are summoned must notify the court if there is any reason why they should not or cannot attend.
      1. Once a list of jurors has been chosen then the prosecution and defence have a right to see the list.
        Then vetting takes place. There are two main types of vetting- Routine police checks to make sure nobody is disqualified. A wider check is made on the jurors background and political affiliations.
        Once the panel of 12 has been chosen then the prosecution and defence have the right to challenge anyone on the jury.
        Challenge to the Array- A challenge to the whole jury on the basis that is has been chosen in an unrepresentative or biased way.
        Challenge for Cause- Challenging the right of a individual juror to sit on the jury.
        The prosecution has the right to stand by jurors. This puts that juror to the end of the list to only be used if there is not enough other jurors.
Discussion
1. Criticisms of selection
  1. Use of the electoral register does not always give a representative sample of the population as it excludes the Homeless and young ethnic minorities who have not registered to vote.
  2. The prosecutions right to stand by is seen to give them an advantage or the defendant and the possibility to of rigging the jury.
2. Advantages and Disadvantages to Trial by Jury
  1. Advantages
    1. Public involvement makes the system more open.
    2. The defendant is tried by his or her peers.
    3. Considered one of the fundamentals of a democratic society.
    4. 12 jurors cancels out any individual bias.
    5. Jury is not case hardened and will not be influenced by other cases of similar nature.
  2. Disadvantages
    1. The juries decision is reached in private and the reason for the decision is not known.
    2. Jurors may be racially biased
    3. Jurors may not understand complicated cases and this may cause the wrong verdict to be given.
    4. Media coverage of a case may causes peoples opinions to be influenced and this may cause the verdict to be inaccurate or wrong.

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	Created by elliot-jack-hutc about 11 years ago