Jury System In Australia Essay

In a criminal trial, a jury is a group usually comprised of twelve randomly chosen adults, whose role is to hear evidence, apply the law as directed by the judge, and then collectively decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crime they have been accused of, based only on the facts given. Juries have played a significant role in Australia’s justice system for quite some time, though in more recent years the role of juries has been reduced. In 2011, the NSW government changed the law so that accused persons could apply for judge alone trials and, with consent from the Director of Public, avoid juries entirely (Whitbourn 2013). Currently there is much debate as to whether or not the jury system should be scrapped entirely for criminal trials in NSW.
A reason that supports the idea of scrapping the jury system is the lack of …show more content…
In giving ordinary people the role of deciding the innocence or guilt of someone in court, it can allow them to feel more confident in the legal system of their own state or country and safer in their own lives. Also, it can allow members of the community to feel as if their opinions and views on crimes are valued by the government and legal system. . Whitbourn (2013) states that Nicholas Cowdery, former NSW director of public prosecutions said, ' 'juries perform a valuable role in connecting the community with criminal justice and in bringing into the process the community 's values and standards ' '. What is meant by this is that in taking the opinions of the community into consideration when judging criminal offences, the government are able to see the values and standards of the community which they wish to be met by those around them, which could potentially lead to new or amended laws as said values and standards