Ordinary People Have a Role to Play in the Administration of Justice. Consider This Statement in Connection with Either Magistrates or Juries. Which Are Just Lay People but Law Depens on Them Largely

Juries have been used in the legal system for over 1000 years. Originally they were used for providing local knowledge and information and acted more as witnesses than decision – makers. By the middle of the 15th Century, juries had become independent assessors and assumed their modern role as deciders of fact.

Independence of the Jury

Bushell’s Case (1670) – jurors refused to convict Quaker activists of unlawful assembly. The trial judge would not accept the ‘not guilty’ verdict and ordered the jurors to resume their deliberations without food or drink. When the jurors persisted in their refusal to convict, the court fined them and committed them to prison until the fines were paid. On appeal, the Court of Common Pleas ordered the release of the jurors holding that jurors could not be punished for their verdict

- This established that the jury were the sole arbiters of fact and the judge could not challenge their decision.

R v McKenna (1960) – in this case the judge at the trial had threatened the jury if they did not return with a verdict within 10 minutes they would be locked up all night. The jury returned with a verdict of guilty but the defendant’s conviction was quashed on appeal because of the judge’s interference.

Modern Day Use of Juries

Only a small percentage of cases are tried by Jury today. Juries are used in the following courts:

Juries in criminal cases: the most important use of juries today is the Crown Court where they decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Jury trials account for less than 1% of all criminal trials. This is because 97% of criminal trials are dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court and of the cases that go to the Crown Court about 2 out of every 3 defendants plead guilty.

Juries in civil cases: juries in civil cases are now only used in very limited circumstances but where they are used they have a dual role. They decide whether the claimant has proved his case or not,...