Chapter 8- Juries

Question 1

what is R v McKenna and what did it help to establish?

Answer 1

• Judge threatened the jurors that if they didn’t return a verdict within another 10 mins they would be locked up all night
• Jury then returned a guilty verdict
• Defendants conviction quashed on appeal due to judges interference
• Helped establish the independence of the jury

Question 2

what is Pontings’ case and where does it apply to?

Answer 2

• civil servant charged under s2 of the official secrets Act 1911
• Leaked info about the sinking of a ship during the Falklands war to an mp
• pleaded not guilty due to acting in the public’s best interest
• jury refused conviction even when the judge said there was no defence
• advantage of a jury trial- Jury equity

Question 3

what is R v Randle and Pottle, and what does it apply to?

Answer 3

• Charged with helping a spy escape prison and flee to Russia
• But the trial didn’t occur until 25 years later
• Jury acquitted them, maybe due to a protest over time lapse
• Disadvantage of jury trial- Perverse decisions

Question 4

what is R v Mirza and what does it apply to?

Answer 4

• Defendant was a Pakistani who had an interpreter
• In the trial jury sent notes around asking why he needed an interpreter
• he was convicted of a 10.2 majority
• 6 days later 1 juror wrote in saying there had been a theory saying the use of an interpreter had been a ploy
• Juror said she was shouted down when reminding jury of judges directions
• Disadvantage of jury trial- Secrecy

Question 5

what is R v Young (Stephen) and what does it apply to?

Answer 5

• defendant charged with murder of 2
• jury used a Ouija board during their hotel stay, to try and contact the dead victims, next day they returned a guilty verdict
• When this became known the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial
• The court also inquired into what had happened as it had occurred in a hotel not the jury room
• Disadvantages of jury trial- Exceptions

Question 6

what is R v Karakaya and what does it apply to?

Answer 6

• Defendant accused of rape
• Juror did an at home internet search and printed out the results for the jury room
• Jury convicted Karakaya, but was quashed due to the outside information
• a retrial was ordered and the defendant was acquitted
• Disadvantage of jury trial- Exceptions

Question 7

What is Sander v UK and what does it apply to?

Answer 7

• 1 juror had written a note to the judge raising concern over other jurors making racial remarks
• European Court of Human Rights held that in these circumstances the judge should discharge the jury as there was a breach to the right of a fair trial
• Disadvantage of jury trial- Racial Bias

Question 8

What is R v Taylor and Taylor, and what does it apply to?

Answer 8

• 2 sisters charged with murder
• Newspapers published still photos of a video that gave a false impression of what happened
• jury convicted sisters, but judge gave leave for appeal due to the possible influence the pictures had on the jury’s verdict with the Court of Appeal quashing convictions
• disadvantage of jury trial- Media influence

Question 9

what is KS v R and what does it relate to?

Answer 9

• defendant had various trials on fraud allegation, but wasn’t until the 10th where tampering occurred
• Jury and members of the public were directed to the same smoking area
• In the area friend of defendant approached a juror
• Court of appeal refused trial by judge alone as they pointed out it was casual arrangements that wouldn’t be repeated
• They said it was opportunistic rather than a deliberate targeting of jurors
• Disadvantage- Jury tampering