Law Weblog
Juries: selection – the Will of Parliament
Tuesday 15 June 2004 at 9:35 pm | In News | 4 Comments15th June:
It has been widely reported in the press that a barrister who is Queen’s Counsel was discharged from jury service in a murder trial at the Old Bailey last week.
Judge George Bathurst-Norman is reported to have ruled that the presence of the “silk” might be prejudicial to the defendant. It was also reported that that the QC told staff that he recognised prosecuting counsel after being sworn in.
The facts are not fully reported, and so much is speculation. We did report on 3rd June that this topic will give us something to talk about during the long holiday.
On the one hand it is clear is that a judge has to ensure a fair trial, on the other hand it seems to us that judges are able to undermine the will of Parliament (Criminal Justice Act 2003). This case may signal the way barristers and judges will wheedle their way our of jury service “I recognise my learned friend for the prosecution”. Barristers are all deemed to know each other and by convention don’t shake hands with each other, so it is almost certain to be true.
In our office, we are taking bets on the certainty that Lord Justice Dyson’s presence in the jury box lasts no more than a few minutes, or even seconds.
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One can hardly regard a trial by jury where a QC is a member of the jury as a trial by peers.
Comment by Chui — Wednesday 16 June 2004 3:39 am #
It is not doubt likely that in the near future, we will have the unique prospect of a person serving a dual role in the same case – judge and juror!
Comment by Daniel Collins — Thursday 17 June 2004 10:57 am #
it must recalled that we are supposed to be tried by our peers, members of society. in doing so, we can hardly say, except these bits of society. if you happen to be friends with someone in the legal profession, that person is one of your peers, there is no valid reason why you cannot be tried by him. in such situations, the jury is more likley to get the law right, and give a just result
Comment by Aden Lucas — Monday 21 June 2004 10:30 am #
I am currently doing jury service, and I can say that as a matter of course anyone on the jury who knows a witness, a member of the court or the accused is discharged. It seems that there is no method of sorting this out in advance because someone i met had been discharged twice in the course of a week in similar circumstances. If a member of the jury knows someone in the court then it is reasonable to suppose that this may influence they thought processes, the idea that this might allow a less than public minded QC to “wheedle” his/her way out of jury service is, unfortunatley, irrelevant.
Comment by mike — Saturday 23 October 2004 6:55 pm #