Law Weblog

Are Juries Fair?

Wednesday 17 February 2010 at 8:59 am | In News | Post Comment A report by Professor Cheryl Thomas is a major contribution to the debate on the way juries operate.  Cheryl Thomas has debunked many myths and produced a convincing wide ranging and important paper.  The report examines whether all-white juries discriminate against black and minority ethnic defendants, and finds they do not.

The report also asks whether juries rarely convict on certain offences or at certain courts and whether jurors understand legal directions, are aware of media coverage or look for information on the internet about cases.

• The study found little evidence of jury unfairness.
• The study found little evidence that juries are not fair. However, it identifies several areas where the criminal justice system should better assist jurors in performing this vital role.
• The study also demonstrates that section 8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 does not prevent comprehensive research about how juries reach their verdicts and that research from other jurisdictions should not be relied upon to understand juries in this country.

The study examined decision-making at the jury verdict level:

• The key finding was that verdicts of all-White juries did not discriminate against BME defendants. Jury verdicts at both courts showed no tendency for all-White juries to convict a Black or Asian defendant more than a White defendant.
• All-White juries at Winchester had almost identical verdicts for White and BME defendants, but all-White juries at Nottingham had particular difficulty reaching a verdict involving a BME defendant or BME victim.

This suggests that local population dynamics may play a role in jury decision-making.

• BME defendants are consistently more likely than White defendants to plead not guilty to charges in all of the 12 general offence categories used in this study except one (falsification, forgery and counterfeiting)
• BME defendants are three and half times more likely to face a jury verdict in the Crown Court relative to their representation in the general population.

However, jury verdicts showed only small differences based on defendant ethnicity. White and Asian defendants both had a 63% jury conviction rate; Black defendants had a 67% jury conviction rate.
Most charges brought against defendants in the Crown Court are not decided by a jury:

• Only 12% of all charges are decided by jury deliberation.
• 59% of all charges result in a guilty plea by a defendant.

The report is here