The Process of Choosing Jurors and Their Role

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The Process of Choosing Jurors and Their Role The right to trial by jury can be traced back to Magna Carta (The Great Charter of Liberties, 1215) and the independence of the jury from the judge was established in Bushell's Case (1670). In criminal cases, the jury make the decision whether the defendant is guilty or not guilt. However, this is approximately only 3% of all crimes, and these are heard in the Crown Court. In civil cases, the jury decide if the claimant has proved their case and the amount of damages (compensation). Nevertheless, it is a right in only four types of civil case, which are: defamation over £10,000, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment and fraud. In other civil cases it is discretionary. To be on a jury you need to qualify. To qualify for jury service a person must be aged between 18 and 70, registered on the electoral roll, and they must have lived in the UK for at least five years since the age of 13. People are ineligible for jury service if they are suffering from certain mental disorders, if they are part of the judiciary and/or linked to others concerned with the administration of justice, and finally, if they are a member of the Clergy. Those with certain criminal convictions, and those currently on bail in criminal proceedings are automatically disqualified for jury service for 10 years, for example, people that have served any part of a sentence of imprisonment. Certain individuals are disqualified for life, say if they have served life imprisonment or to a term longer than five years. There are people that are excused of jury service have to either be aged 65-70 years old, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ession of video sequence, and in addition to this, the more recent trial such as the Ian Huntley case. Jurors may not understand the case that they are trying. The Runciman Commission (1992) informed us that just under 10% of jurors admitted difficulty with a case. The juries usually have no legal knowledge or training. A disadvantage linked to this is that there is no intelligence test required. A person may not have to be “intellectual” to be on a jury, but surely a certain amount of intelligence is required for understanding of trials. Other disadvantages include the jury having a financial interest in the length of trials, that “nobbling” may occur, whereby the jury are bribed or threatened, and finally that it is a slow and expensive process, with 12 people needing expenses during the time the trial is on.

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