Lay People Flashcards
(24 cards)
Describe
Magistrates in General
Apart of Selec/Quali/Disquali questions.
- Lay people, who sit in a bench of three.
- One chair person, two wingers.
Describe
The requirements to be a Magistrate.
Mention, Age, Availablity, Oath of Alliegance, Convictions
Apart of Selec/Quali/Disquali questions. Don’t mention qualities.
Age
* Must be 18-74 as retire at 75.
Availability
* Must work voluntary for, mininum of 26 half days a year,
* And live or work in the same area.
Oath of Alliegance
* Can’t be asylum seeker.
* And must swear on oath, can’t swear on oath twice, else excluded.
Criminal Convictions
* Must disclose, criminal convictions or civil order of them or their spouse.
* If serious or number of minor offences no admission
Describe
6 key qualities to require to be a Magistrate.
Apart of Selec/Quali/Disquali questions.
- Good Character
- Good Understanding and Communication
- Social Awareness
- Maturity and Sound Temperment
- Sound Judgement
- Committed and Reliable
Describe
The Disqualifications of a Magistrate.
6 in total.
Apart of Selec/Quali/Disquali questions.
- Serious or Extensive Criminal Convictions.
- Un-discharged bankrupts.
- Members of the Armed Forces.
- Workers in the Criminal Justice System.
- Relatives of those workers.
- Close relatives of current Magistrates.
Describe
The Selection process for a Magistrate
7 steps.
Apart of Selec/Quali/Disquali questions.
- Candiates apply to the LAC onliine via a governmental website.
- LAC review all canditates, and select ones that are a good cross-section of society.
- Candidates take part in two interviews.
- Interview 1 - Assesses candidate on if they have 6 key qualities, and general character and personal attributes.
- Interview 2 - Assesses judicial qualities by taking part in case studies.
- Appointment - LAC reccommends suitable candidates to Lord Chancellor, who appoints them as Magistrates.
- Succesful Candidates sworn into local Magistrates court.
Describe
Role of Magistrates in Criminal Cases
Apart of Role Questions.
- Try 97% of all Summary, and some Either-Way offences.
- Hear evidence from defence and prosecution.
- Decide verdict and setence D to max 6 month inprisonment and unlimited fine.
- Do a Plea Before Venue and Mode of Trial Hearing for Either-Way offences.
- For the 3%, they do Early Administrative Hearing.
- For indictable offences, they do Bail and Legal Funding.
- Sits with judge in Crown Court to hear appeals on Conviction and Sentence.
- Specially trained magistrates, sit in Youth Court to deal with youth offenders.
Describe
Juries in General
Mention Bushell’s Case and S.17(3) of Juries Act 1974
Apart of all Juries questions. Mention majority verdicts here.
- Trial by jury is a key part of the ELS, no legal knowledge and provide D a fair trial.
Bushell's Case - Judge can't challenge the deciscion of a jury and jury must be free and independent from judges in a trial.
- Majority Verdict is where judge can accept a verdict, that isn’t unanimous where most of the jury side, to avoid stalemates and Jury Nobbling.
S.17(3) of Juries Act 1974 - In a majority verdict, the foreperson of the jury must state how many agreed and disagreed.
Describe
What a person needs to be, in order to eligible for Jury Service.
Mention Juries Act 1974 (As ammended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003)
Apart of Juries Qualification exam question.
Juries Act 1974 (As Ammended by Criminal Justice Act 2003) - Requires the person to be, * 18-75 * Registered to vote on the electoral role * Have lived in the UK for 5 years since their 13th birthday.
Describe
What gets you disqaualified from the Jury for life, in general and for 10 years.
Apart of Juries Qualification exam question.
Life
* Imprisoned on a life sentence / or at His Majesties pleasure / or for public protection
* Given extended setence.
* Given prison sentence for more than 5 years.
10 years
* Imprisoned in the last 10 years.
* Recieved a supended setence.
* Recieved a community order in the last of 10 years.
In General
* Those on bail.
Describe
Mental Disorder disqualification, lack of capacity and right to be excused, as well as penalty for not disclosing this.
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Apart of Juries Qualification exam question.
CJA Act 2003 - Uneligible to serve if suffer from mental illness or disorder and are getting treatment.
Lack of Capacity
* Person who doesn’t adquately understand English.
* Someone who is blind
* Someone who needs an interpertrator
* Judge has to be satified this would make the Juror not effective.
Right to be Excused
* Armed Forces member with permission from CO that their leave would jeopradise the service.
* Those who recently served as jurors.
**Penalty for not disclosing is £5000 fine.
Describe
Discretionary Exclusions to Jury Service and penalty for not attending.
Mention Juries Act 1974
Apart of Juries Qualification exam question.
Official can excuse a person for this reason and defer their service for up to 12 months, person needs a good excuse.
* Pregnant and close to giving birth
* Pre-booked Holiday
* Scheduled Operations
* Public Examinations
* Wedding or Funeral
Not attending nets you this fine.
£1000 fine
Describe
The selection process of a jury.
Apart of Juries Selection exam question.
- Each Crown Court has an official responsible for summoning enough jurors to try cases in two week periods.
- Name of Jurors selected randomly from electoral register, done by Computer at Central Office.
- More than 12 jurors are summoned, to check qualifications.
- These jurors most notify the courts if there is a reason they can’t or shouldn’t attend.
- Juries expected to attend for two weeks, though some cases are longer.
- Jurors taken to jury waiting room, clerk calls in 15 Jury in Waiting and they go to the court room.
- Court Clerk calls out 12 of the 15 from a open ballot, 3 unchosen go back to be called again. Prosectution and Defence can then challenge one or more.
The process ensures, jury is chosen at random and free from bias.
Describe
The To The Array, Jury Challenging.
Mention S.5 Juries Act 1974, and Romford Jury
Apart of Juries Selection exam question.
S.5 Juries Act 1974 - Right to challenge the whole jury, on basis that it was chosen in a unrepresentative or biased way. Romford Jury - Whole jury challenged for being unrepresentive as 9 lived in Romford and 2 on the same street,
Describe
The For Cause, Jury Challenging
Mention R v Wilson & R v Sprason
Apart of Juries Selection exam question.
- Challenging the right of an individual juror to sit in jury.
- Must give a valid reason why, that if not removed there will be a danger of bias.
R v Wilson & R v Sprason - Juror should not have served on case, as there was a danger of bias.
Describe
The Prosecutions right to stand by Juror, Jury Challenging.
Apart of Juries Selection exam question.
Prosecution can challenge any juror on the basis they are manifestly unsuitable with no reason given.
Describe
The role of the Jury
Apart of Juries Selection exam question.
- Jury hear all evidence and decide the facts of the case.
- Judge supports them by deciding and explaining points of law.
- Jury can be directed to acquit D at end of prosecutions case if judge finds there is no case to anwser.
- After hearing evidence, Jury retire to a private room to decide if D is guilty or not.
- Majority Verdict, if can’t be unanimous judge accepts 10-2 or 11-1 after 2 hours of deliberation.
- Foreman of jury reads out the verdict in the court room.
- Jury are dismissed
- Don’t setence D.
Evaluate the advantage
Jury Equity
- What don’t they follow?
- This means they dont have to…? What can they base desiscion on?
- How did Jury use equity in that case?
Clive Ponting
Apart of Juries Advantages exam question.
- Precedent and Statute from other cases.
- Don’t have to follow legal rules / Base case on facts alone.
- Clive Ponting - D leaked classified material, jury found him not guilty as agreed with his motive, can’t be challenged.
Evaluate the advantage
Representative
- How are they chosen?
- What portion of society are they? Is it easy to defer?
- What does this mean for understanding D?
Apart of Juries Advantages exam question.
- Random from electoral register.
- Large portion so a good cross-section of society, also difficult to defer from Jury Service.
- Less bias and have more understanding on the D’s background.
Evaluate the advantage
Secrecy
- Where are deciscions made?
- What does this base descision on?
- Who can’t interfere?
Apart of Juries Advantages exam question.
- Completely private room in the court.
*Based on fairness and evidence alone and no pressure.
- Lawyers or judges can’t interfere with process so the trial and jury’s verdict is fair.
Evaluate the advantage
Impartial
- Who can they know?
- This makes the deciscion…?
- Are they case hardened? In comparison to Judges?
Apart of Juries Advantages exam question.
- They can’t know anybody in the case.
- Deciscion will be free from any bias or interference.
- Not hardened so may have sympathy and be fully impartial, whereas a Judge may compare with other cases.
Evaluate the disadvantage
Perverse Verdicts
- What is the verdict based on?
- What can this lead to?
- How did the jury react in this case?
Kranlid
Apart of Juries Disadvantage exam question.
- Personal opinion, not the facts so no justice.
- Verdict based on opinion rather than evidence, which can aquit anyone guilty.
- Kranlid - D damaged aeroplane hangar in protest, jury agreed with him so they found him not guilty, despite his crime, not fair on the V.
Evaluate the disadvantage
Unrepresentative
- Too many people in jury are?
- Do they fit a stereotype generally? What do younger people do?
- How many suffer from mental illness? Is it representative?
Apart of Juries Disadvantage exam question.
- Disqualified or defer from the service making it unrepresentative.
- Older people don’t usually defer as they have the time to do jury service, young people tend to defer more.
- 1/3 suffer from mental illness, and they can’t be on the jury, so not full representation.
Evaluate the disadvantage
Secrecy
- How is decision made?
- Do the jury explain why? This would mean?
- What was this verdict based on?
Stephen Young
Apart of Juries Disadvantage exam question.
- In secret with no one other than the jury listening in.
- Don’t explain reason for verdict, could be a biased decision or made for the wrong reason but we won’t know.
- Stephen Young - Jury based the verdict over an Ouijia board, was not based on any facts or evidence.
Evaluate the disadvantage
Media Influence
- What cases can get influenced? Is this fair on the D?
- In this day and age it is impossible to?
- What did the media pay the jurors for? What did the defence argue? And what did the Court of Appeal do?
Rose West
Apart of Juries Disadvantage exam question.
- High-profile cases of public intrique, unfair on the D involved.
- Can’t avoid the news completely and anything surronding the case if it is a wide-spread case, as the internet exists.
- Rose West - Media was all over the case and paid Jurors for witness statements, defence found this unfair but the COA rejected this claim.
