Overview of the system
Adversarial System
● Prosecution vs Defense
● Jury is not involved in the investigation, preparation, or collection of evidence
● Give a true verdict according to the evidence
● Civil cases - lower standard of proof
● Criminal cases - proof beyond reasonable doubt
Magistrate’s Court
● Hear all criminal cases at first instance
● Serious cases are transferred to the Crown
Court
● Less serious cases and those involving
juveniles are tried in magistrates’ courts
● 3 kinds of offences: Summary (less serious cases - magistrate’s court), Either-way (cases
which can be heard either in a magistrates’ court or before a judge and jury in the Crown
Court), Indictable-only (serious cases which have to go to the Crown Court)
Crown Court
● Dealing with indictable criminal cases that are transferred from the magistrates’ courts
● Serious criminal cases (such as murder, rape, robbery, drug trafficking)
● Appeals against the decisions made by magistrates’ courts
● Heard by a judge and jury
● Jury decides if guilty or not guilty
● Judge imposes a sentence if guilty
● A “jury in waiting” of 20 or more
● Random selection of 12 individuals, During trial: minimum of 9
● Push for unanimous decision
● Deliberate for minimum of 2 hours and 10 minutes before a majority decision is accepted
● Majorities allowed: 11-1, 10-2, 10-1, 9-1
● If only 9 jurors, decision must be unanimous, hung juries usually lead to re-trials
Re-trial
● Defendant tried again by a different jury
● If prosecution chooses to proceed for a second time
● Is jury unable to agree again, conventionally there is no third trial
● Prosecution to offer no evidence => not guilty
, Double jeopardy
● Law exists in the UK
● Has been reformed in the 2003 Act, which now allows retrials for a number of very serious
offences, where new and compelling evidence has come to light
Unanimous Decision Rule
● Hangs twice as often
● Evidence driven
● Take more time examining the evidence
● Jurors feel more satisfied
● Minority views are heard more
Majority Decision Rule
● Take votes earlier
● More driven to reach a verdict
● Spend more time voting
● Minority group members are not
heard as often
Jury Selection - UK
Anyone:
● At least 18 and under 76
● Understand English
● Ordinarily resident in UK for minimum of 5 years
● Not mentally disordered
● Not disqualified (on bail; imprisonment last 10 years)
May be ineligible if juror is known to someone involved in the case or unable to understand
proceedings
No procedure to ‘balance’ the jury on ethnicity, ancestry, gender, age, etc.
Random selection (no scientific selection or voir dire)
Standard DBS check, sometimes more detailed if concerns about bias (e.g., national security,
terrorism)
Jury Vetting - UK
Challenging jurors
Adversarial System
● Prosecution vs Defense
● Jury is not involved in the investigation, preparation, or collection of evidence
● Give a true verdict according to the evidence
● Civil cases - lower standard of proof
● Criminal cases - proof beyond reasonable doubt
Magistrate’s Court
● Hear all criminal cases at first instance
● Serious cases are transferred to the Crown
Court
● Less serious cases and those involving
juveniles are tried in magistrates’ courts
● 3 kinds of offences: Summary (less serious cases - magistrate’s court), Either-way (cases
which can be heard either in a magistrates’ court or before a judge and jury in the Crown
Court), Indictable-only (serious cases which have to go to the Crown Court)
Crown Court
● Dealing with indictable criminal cases that are transferred from the magistrates’ courts
● Serious criminal cases (such as murder, rape, robbery, drug trafficking)
● Appeals against the decisions made by magistrates’ courts
● Heard by a judge and jury
● Jury decides if guilty or not guilty
● Judge imposes a sentence if guilty
● A “jury in waiting” of 20 or more
● Random selection of 12 individuals, During trial: minimum of 9
● Push for unanimous decision
● Deliberate for minimum of 2 hours and 10 minutes before a majority decision is accepted
● Majorities allowed: 11-1, 10-2, 10-1, 9-1
● If only 9 jurors, decision must be unanimous, hung juries usually lead to re-trials
Re-trial
● Defendant tried again by a different jury
● If prosecution chooses to proceed for a second time
● Is jury unable to agree again, conventionally there is no third trial
● Prosecution to offer no evidence => not guilty
, Double jeopardy
● Law exists in the UK
● Has been reformed in the 2003 Act, which now allows retrials for a number of very serious
offences, where new and compelling evidence has come to light
Unanimous Decision Rule
● Hangs twice as often
● Evidence driven
● Take more time examining the evidence
● Jurors feel more satisfied
● Minority views are heard more
Majority Decision Rule
● Take votes earlier
● More driven to reach a verdict
● Spend more time voting
● Minority group members are not
heard as often
Jury Selection - UK
Anyone:
● At least 18 and under 76
● Understand English
● Ordinarily resident in UK for minimum of 5 years
● Not mentally disordered
● Not disqualified (on bail; imprisonment last 10 years)
May be ineligible if juror is known to someone involved in the case or unable to understand
proceedings
No procedure to ‘balance’ the jury on ethnicity, ancestry, gender, age, etc.
Random selection (no scientific selection or voir dire)
Standard DBS check, sometimes more detailed if concerns about bias (e.g., national security,
terrorism)
Jury Vetting - UK
Challenging jurors
