Jury

I

Introduction

Jury, in law, a body of people who are chosen to decide the truth of factual evidence in an action or legal proceeding and, on instruction of the court, to apply the law to the facts. Such a body is called a petty jury or trial jury. Traditionally, a trial jury consists of 12 people, although a criminal trial can proceed with as few as nine. A trial must start with 12, but the judge has the power to excuse or discharge jurors in the course of the trial for illness or other good cause. In England, Wales, and Scotland, the use of jurors is almost exclusively confined to the Crown Court and Coroners’ courts: they are very rarely used in civil cases, save in actions for damages for false imprisonment, and defamation cases.

II

History

The exact origin of the jury system is not known; various writers have attributed it to different European peoples who at an early period developed methods of trial not unlike the early jury trials in England. It seems probable that the jury in England was derived directly from the Norman institution of recognition by sworn inquest, whereby 12 knights were chosen to serve as recognitors. Their duty was to inquire into various matters of interest to the new rulers of England that might be the subject of public inquiry, for example, taxation.

As early as the 12th century, it had become customary for suitors in certain cases affecting the title to land to apply to the King’s Court for the summoning of recognitors to ascertain, either from their own knowledge or on inquiry from others, the truth of the matter at issue; the verdict of the court, if unanimous, was accepted as conclusive. It was natural that other questions of fact arising in the King’s Court should be disposed of in a similar manner, and the gradual transformation of the recognitors into the jury in common law followed as a matter of course. Originally, the jury members were not only judges of fact, but were also witnesses who were selected because of their knowledge of the customs and the people of the locality, and possibly of the suitors themselves. In the early 15th century, however, the judges of the courts of common law restricted the jury to the performance of its function as a judge of fact based on the evidence submitted in an action. This is the single function of the jury in modern practice.

III

Selection of a Jury

In the United Kingdom, a jury panel is selected at random from a list of electors aged between 18 and 70. If selected, a citizen is obliged to serve on the jury (see Jury Service). When a criminal case commences in the Crown Court, a “panel” of randomly selected jurors-in-waiting is called into court; typically between 16 and 20, though the number may be greater if there is more than one defendant. Each juror’s name is written on a card, and the clerk of the court shuffles the cards before drawing 12 names at random.

The prosecution frequently reads out to the panel the names of the witnesses they intend to call; if any juror knows one of them he or she will be disqualified.

The prosecution may ask for a juror to be removed before the case starts by asking the juror to “stand by”. No reasons need be given, and the power is used sparingly. The juror who is “stood by” returns to the panel, and will only be selected for the jury if there would otherwise be insufficient panellists to make up a jury. Either the prosecution or the defence may “challenge for cause”, and seek to persuade the judge that an individual juror is biased; questions may be put to the juror only if there is reason to believe that that might be the case. A defendant is not allowed to ask for a “special jury”—for example, a jury with particular racial characteristics, or an all-female jury. (It may, of course, happen that an all-black or an all-female jury is empanelled, but this must be the outcome of the random selection process).

IV

Function of a Jury

After a satisfactory jury has been drawn, its members are sworn in, and the trial proceeds. In general, during the progress of a trial, all questions of law are determined by the court and questions of fact by the jury. The limits of the inquiry as to facts are determined by the pleadings and the rules of evidence. Whether evidence is properly admissible or not is a question for the court, but the weight and credibility of the evidence admitted are determined by the jury. The court, however, may decide a question of fact without sending the question to the jury if no conflict of evidence exists on the point. The court may also interpret documents received in evidence without the aid of the jury.

After all the evidence has been presented, the two counsel, first for the defendant (the person against whom the action is brought) and then for the plaintiff or prosecution (who brought the action to court), address the jury, reviewing the evidence in the case and commenting on it in a manner favourable to that counsel’s side of the case. The judge then sums up to the jury. The summing-up is a statement of the rules of law applicable to the evidence in that particular case. It is given in order to aid the jury in rendering a correct verdict. The jury then retires from the courtroom to begin its deliberations, which continue until an agreement as to the verdict is reached, or until the presiding judge deems that the jury cannot reach an agreement. The latter case is known as a hung jury. In the event that no agreement is reached, a new trial may be called.

All members of a jury should agree on a verdict, which in a criminal trial will be “guilty” or “not guilty”. In Scotland a third verdict of “not proven” may be reached. If, however, the members of a British jury have failed to agree after a period, the judge may accept a verdict on which at least ten of the jurors are agreed. If there are only nine jurors, they must be unanimous. If the verdict is “guilty”, the court must be told how many jurors agreed and how many disagreed with it; if “not guilty”, the verdict is treated as unanimous, and no further questions are asked. The verdict of a jury is decisive and cannot be disturbed unless rendered contrary to law or against the weight of evidence. In such a case the verdict may be set aside, either by the judge or later on appeal.