My storybook of Jury cases

By Eleanor Walker

Bushells Case

• The jury refused to convict the defendants so were imprisoned by the judges. The judge said “you shall not be dismissed until we have a verdict that the court will accept”. The jurors were locked up without meat, drink, fire or tobacco in a prison cell until the paid a fine.

• This case is important because what came out of it was the reminder of juries being ‘the sole arbiter of fact’.

R v Ponting 1985

• Clive Ponting sent confidential documents about the sinking of a ship to a labour backbencher. He was definitely guilty but the jury acquitted him arguing that his prosecution was politically inspired.

• Point of law: Jury equity- advantage questions.

R v Owen 1992

• The defendants son had been killed by a careless driver and was sent to prison for 12 months. This did not appease his anger so he went to the defendants house after he was out of prison and fired at him with a shotgun, wounding him.

• The defendant was acquitted as the jury shared his feelings of outrage

• Point of law: juries can create perverse decisions and still get away with it-disadvantage questions.

R v Kronlid 1996• 3 women broke onto a plane and caused £1.5 million worth of damage, the

women did leave a video explaining their actions though.

• Their case got acquitted because the jury believed they did it for right reasons-stopping the plane from arriving in East Timor to attack the survivors.

• Point of law: jury equity.

R v Rayment and others

• Evidence was given over a course of 5 months due to recurring illness and commitments with the jury.

• Too much time between the giving of evidence made the jurors decision less accurate so the trial is unfair.

• Point of law: too much time (disadvantages questions)

Brinks Mat Trial

• Robbers stole gold bullion ( £26 million worth of gold, diamonds and cash). They poured petrol over staff and threatened them with a lit match if they did not reveal the combination numbers of the vault.

• They got sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for armed robbery and one defendant, Noye, was fined £500,000 plus £200,000 costs.

• Point of law:

R v Green 2007

• After shooting his father he was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment charged with manslaughter.

• He appealed against his sentence stating it was out of line for offences of domestic violence in which the victim is seen to have been subjected to.

• The court decided the sentence was appropriate to 5 or 6 years .His sentence was reduced considerably.

• Point of law:

R v West

• Guilty rosemary west murdered 10 young girls and she appealed arguing that the media influenced her case. The judge dismissed her appeal stating even if she had a brand new case she would still be ruled guilty as the allegations of murder were sufficiently horrendous.

• Point of law: media influence (disadvantage questions).