Jury Trial Advantages And Disadvantages

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| |No enquiry allowed into jury deliberations after verdict, even if juror |
|Section 51 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 creates offence |alleges racial or any other type of bias or wrongdoing by the jury. |
|to intimidate or threaten to harm a juror. | |
|Prosecution and defence "challenges" correct the problems caused by |Jury vetting is against the principle of random selection. |
|random selection. | |
|95% of cases dealt with by magistrates, so not a great cost as a |Expense of jury trial. |
|percentage spent of the CJ system. | …show more content…
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|Common sense; judge strength of witnesses' evidence themselves. |Are mislead by barristers' techniques as to strength of evidence. |
|Apply common values, e.g. what is "dishonest" |Judge has to explain legal matters. |
|Majority verdicts allow justice when there is a 'rogue' juror. |Majority verdicts can convict when there is doubt which should have been |
| |given to the defendant. |
|Many judges believe jurors usually return the right verdict, very few|Easily influenced by impressive barristers, or the judge. …show more content…
|Insufficient intellect. Cannot follow complicated tax or fraud cases. |
| |Note: can be judge-only trial in some cases. |
|Provide a barometer of public opinion. |Inconsistencies throughout the country. |
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| |Young jurors no life experience. |
|Ordinary honest citizens applying local knowledge and values. |Jury members can have a string of convictions not serious enough to |
| |disqualify. |
|Reputed to do their best according to the law. |