The crown court is the main court that sees the use of juries on a day to day basis. However even in this court, juries are rarely used. For example in the quarterly of 2012 from October to December from the 33,137 cases that made it to the Crown court, only 8,946 of these were trials; this is less than a third of all cases. This shows that even in the court that sees the most of jury use, there is in fact a smaller need for them than many think. This is a result of many cases having an early guilty plea which has increased over the last few years as a result of plea bargaining. Defendants may receive a reduction in sentencing resulting from an early guilty plea. This implemented law ensures cases are dealt with in a more timely and money effective way through the court system. Yet it could be seen here that the courts are more concerned with benefiting themselves, in terms of money and time, than carrying out justice fairly and encouraging jury trials for defendants.
Although juries can also be used in civil cases too, their use is very limited and rare. For example in both the High and County courts a jury may only be called for cases involving defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and any alleged fraud. This is evidently a limited amount of cases from the civil law sector. Additionally in the Coroner’s court recent enforcements have allowed the Coroner to only call upon a jury where the victim dies whilst in custody or where he believes there is sufficient reason for jury trial
Despite their seemingly rare use, there have been calls to diminish, if not remove, juries from our legal system. For example the Mode of Trial Bill 2000, which although was not legalised, attempted to reduce the use of juries radically by changing many offences to be summary, meaning they would be dealt with in the Magistrates court without the use of jury trial. This would result in the alternate approach of trial by an unelected judge which seems foolish in the place of twelve reasonable and representative men. I believe such a severe suggestion of reducing or abolishing juries unjustly overlooks their fundamental constitutional significance as representing our democratic, participatory society.
The argument that they are of a high cost and unnecessary is clear to see; however it seems, as commented on by Cornish, that it would be ‘foolish to dismiss too hastily the obvious fact that a great many people simply believe in the jury system’ as they are representative of the ‘people.’
It is unequivocal that in reality only a tiny fraction of cases are handled by jury trials. Whether this be the result of more summary trials or a guilty plea resulting from a bargain struck by a persuasive lawyer, many will pass through the courts without even considering or having the option for a jury trial. Moreover with the future alleged proposals to see the use of juries cutback even further, this minority will only grow thinner. However in my opinion it would be unjust to abolish juries completely on the basis that, although they arguably play a minor role in the legal system, they provide a powerful iconic symbol giving reassurance to the general public of a participatory democracy and this essentially outweighs their practical significance.
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Bibliography
Blackstone W, Commentaries, (vol 4, 1776)
Cornish, The Jury , (1968)
Cownie F, The Crown Court, English legal system in context, (OUP, 2010)
Darbyshire P, ‘The lamp that shows that freedom lives – is it worth the candle?’ [1991] Crim. L.R. 741
Devlin P, Trial by Jury, (Sweet & Maxwell, 1956)
Ministry of Justice, ‘Court Statistics Quarterly October to December 2012’
Samuels A, ‘Trials in indictment without a jury’ [2004] J. Crim. L. 127
Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s.7
County Courts Act 1984, s.66
Criminal Justice Act 2008, s.144
Magna Carta 1297, c.29, s.29
Magna Carta 1297, c.29, s.29
William Blackstone, Commentaries, (vol 4, 1776), p.349
Sir Patrick Devlin, Trial by Jury, (Sweet & Maxwell, 1956), p.164
Penny Darbyshire, ‘The lamp that shows that freedom lives – is it worth the candle?’ [1991] Crim. L.R. 741
Ministry of Justice, ‘Court Statistics Quarterly October to December 2012’
Fiona Cownie, The Crown Court, English legal system in context, (OUP, 2010), p.345 - 365
Criminal Justice Act 2008, s.144
County Courts Act 1984, s.66
Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s.7
Alec Samuels, ‘Trials in indictment without a jury’ [2004] J. Crim. L. 127
Cornish, The Jury , (1968), p.254