The Fairness Of The Jury System In The British Judicial System

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Trial by jury was introduced into the British judicial system in 1215 via the Magna Carta; whereby it declared that “No freeman shall be seized, or imprisoned... excepting by the lawful judgement of his peers...” (Towl and Crighton, 2010, p. 228). June 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of this fundamental directive, which since adoption has remained a ‘jewel’ within the criminal justice system (CJS). It exists in many jurisdictions around the world to this day, although to different degrees and with countless alterations. Significantly, public confidence is regarded as paramount and crucial to the continuation of the jury system (Auld, 2001). England and Wales’ juries consist of 12 lay persons, aged 18 to 70 years (Newburn, 2007). The upper age limit is set to rise to 75 imminently, to take into account longer life expectancies (MoJ, 2014). This …show more content…

Guidelines and principles are set out as ideals, but these are easily subject to discretion, prejudice and errors at any stage (Greene and Heilbrun, 2011). The due process model aims to safeguard the defendant at each stage within the process. However, the conflicting crime control model encourages policing and guilty verdicts, whatever the repercussions (Newburn, 2007). This contest is marked throughout the CJS, “...the more we learn about the Is of the criminal process, the more we are instructed about its Ought,” (Packer, 1968, p. 150). For example, few suspects receive proficient legal defence, yet this is a contradiction to the ideological proviso. It may be interesting to research if juries have experienced and recognised any unfairness within trials. Too often the ideologies of criminal justice, due process and crime control result in miscarriages of justice (Newburn, 2007). When rigid regulatory processes result in bureaucracy, this can only cause more drain on

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