Juries

There are “systemic weaknesses” in the way English juries make decisions and these are likely to be contributing to the conviction of innocent people, failures to convict the guilty, and inequalities, new research warns. The current legal rules involving procedure and evidence are not co

At least 56 miscarriages of justice have occurred in England and Wales in which the jury was split, according to a charity that wants jury unanimity reintroduced. A report by Appeal found that majority verdicts “arguably dilute the principle of reasonable doubt” and have enabled miscarri

Majority verdicts were introduced in part to dilute the influence of ethnic minority and working class jurors, according to new research. Undertaken by miscarriage of justice charity Appeal, the study found that the rationale for the introduction of majority verdicts in 1967, as opposed to unanimous

The High Court has determined that a decision by the Special Criminal Court to certify a miscarriage of justice was within the range of reasonable decisions and was not irrational. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Ms Justice Garrett Simons found that the decision of the Special Criminal Court

Researchers have found that defendants who don’t “swear by Almighty God” when in court run a higher risk of being found guilty by jurors who themselves swear by God. In countries such as Britain and Ireland court witnesses must declare they will provide truthful evidence, but those

Scottish academics have called for judges to stop directing juries to take body language into account when assessing the credibility of witnesses. Sixty-four mock juries were set up for research, featuring a total of 863 participants. Half of them were shown a recorded rape trial while the remainder

There have been just under 50 convictions for juror intimidation in Ireland in the past five years, according to new figures. Information provided to Catherine Murphy TD by the Department of Justice shows that there have been 210 prosecutions under section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1999 since 2

A solicitor sitting on a criminal jury has been jailed after researching a defendant online and sharing her findings with other jurors. Caroline Elizabeth Mitchell, whose actions led to the collapse of a child sexual abuse trial, has resigned from her position as an associate solicitor with Irwin Mi

Thousands more people will be called for jury service in Northern Ireland this year in anticipation of a greater number of applications for excusal or deferral because of the pandemic. Some 40,300 people will be called for jury service this year, a 16 per cent increase on the 34,700 called last year

Liam Herrick, executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), argues that the non-jury Special Criminal Court must be abolished. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has opposed the use of the Special Criminal Court since our foundation. The weakening of fair trial rights and us

Sinn Féin has softened its historic position of opposition to the Special Criminal Court, with members agreeing a new position that non-jury trials should only take place in "exceptional circumstances". The party has traditionally called for the non-jury court, established in the late 1930s t

Plans for jury service reforms including the introduction of juror expenses and the extension of eligibility to some non-citizens have effectively been shelved, according to reports. The working group on jury service, which was established in 2018 to consider recommendations made by the Law Reform C

A high-profile trial concerning evidence given to a Stormont committee about the Nama property scandal will be heard without a jury in an unprecedented step. Former Sinn Féin MLA Daithi McKay, Sinn Féin member Thomas O'Hara and loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson are facing a Crown Court tri

Juries should be cut from 12 members to seven in order to clear the Covid-19 backlog of criminal cases in England and Wales, Labour has said. The call follows a joint report from the police, prosecutors, prisons and probation inspectorates, which said the "unprecedented and very serious" backlog in

Jury trials and other courts and tribunals hearings will continue to be held following the imposition of new Covid-19 restrictions, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The Northern Ireland Executive has announced a significant tightening of public health restrictions for a six-week period starting