Jury Duty in NSW - A Complete Guide for Jurors

Jury Duty in NSW (Australia)

A Guide For Potential Jurors

June, 2014

By Matthew Carney, Criminal Lawyer

Legal Disclaimer

This presentation is offered for general information

purposes only. It does not constitute specific legal

advice or opinion. You should not act or rely upon any

of the information contained within this seminar

without seeking the advice of a qualified solicitor who

specialises in the particular area of expertise and

jurisdiction that you require.

Introduction

Serving on a jury is a new experience for most people. Whilst some people see it as an honour, others wish to avoid duty at all costs.

The following presentation is a guide of frequently asked questions relating to jury service.

Presentation Outline1. Selection and Eligibility 5

2. Roles and Functions18

3. Nature of a Criminal Trial 24

4. Role of Judge and Jury27

5. Jury Foreperson32

6. Onus and Standard of Proof34

7. No Discussions Outside Jury Room37

8. Duties of a Juror to Report Irregularities 39

9. Criminal Conduct by a Juror During/After Trial 42

10. Media Reports46

11. The Verdict 48

Slide #

Selection and Eligibility

Jury duty and the selection of jurors is governed by the Jury Act 1977 (NSW). In NSW in any criminal proceedings in the Supreme Court or the District Court that are to be tried by jury, the jury is to consist of 12 persons.

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http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ja197791/


Potential jurors are not required to disclose their identities except to the sheriff. Jurors are to be referred throughout the proceedings by numbers provided to them by the sheriff.

The defence is not entitled to any information concerning any of the jurors.

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http://www.courts.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/cats/catscorporate_officeofsheriff.html


When selecting jurors, a pool of possible jurors are lead into the court by the Sherriff.

The trial judge must direct the prosecutor to inform the members of the jury panel of the nature of the charge, the identity of the accused and the principal witnesses to be called.

The judge then calls upon members of the panel to apply to be excused if they cannot bring an impartial consideration to the case.

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Both the prosecution and the defence each have three objections to any potential jurors.

Such objections are made without the possibility of any questions being asked of juror.

If objected to by either the prosecution or defence the juror is immediately excused.

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All individuals registered to vote are potential jurors. Simply because you do not want to be a juror, you are a sole business owner, you are a conscientious objector, or because it will have a financial impact upon you does not provide you with an exemption.

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Selection and EligibilityWho is disqualified from serving as Jurors?

1. A person who, within the last 10 years, in NSW or elsewhere, has served any part of a sentence of imprisonment.

2. A person who, within the last 3 years, in NSW or elsewhere, has been found guilty of an offence and detained in a detention centre or other institution for juvenile offenders.

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Selection and EligibilityWho is disqualified from serving as Jurors?

3. A person who is currently bound by an order made in NSW or elsewhere pursuant to a criminal charge or conviction, including:a. a parole order, a community service order, an

apprehended violence order and an order disqualifying the person from driving a motor vehicle,

b. an order committing the person to prison for failure to pay a fine,

c. a recognizance to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, a remand in custody pending trial or sentence and a release on bail pending trial or sentence

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Selection and EligibilityWho is ineligible from serving as Jurors?

1. The Governor

2. A Judicial Officer

3. A Coroner

4. A member or officer of the Executive Council

5. A member of the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly

6. Officers and other staff of either or both of the Houses of Parliament

7. An Australian Lawyer

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8. A person employed or engaged (except on a casual or voluntary basis) in the public sector in law enforcement, criminal investigation, the provision of legal services in criminal cases, the administration of justice or penal administration

9. The Ombudsman or a Deputy Ombudsman

10. A person who, at any time, has been a judicial officer or a coroner, police officer, Crown Prosecutor, Public Defender, Director or Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions or Solicitor for Public Prosecutions

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11. A person who is unable to read or understand English.

12. A person who is unable, because of sickness, infirmity or disability, to discharge the duties of a juror.

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Selection and EligibilityWho has a right to claim an exemption?

1. Clergy

2. Vowed members of any religious order

3. Persons practising as dentists

4. Persons practising as pharmacists

5. Persons practising as medical practitioners

6. Mining managers and under-managers of mines

7. A person employed or engaged (except on a casual or voluntary basis) in the provision of fire, ambulance, rescue, or other emergency services, whether or not in the public sector

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8. People aged 70 or over

9. Pregnant women

10. A person who has the care, custody and control of children under the age of 18 years (other than children who have ceased attending school), and who, if exempted, would be the only person exempt under this item in respect of those children

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11. A person who resides with, and has full-time care of, a person who is sick, infirm or disabled

12. A person who resides more than 56 kms from the place at which they are required to serve

13. A person who:a. within the 3 years that end on the date of the person’s

claim for exemption, attended court in accordance with a summons and served as a juror, or

b. within the 12 months that end on the date of the person’s claim for exemption, attended court in accordance with a summons and who was prepared to, but did not, serve as a juror

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Roles and Functions

Jurors are the sole judges of the facts. In respect of all disputes about matters of fact in any case, it will be jurors and not the judge who will have to resolve them.

In part, that means that it is entirely up to the jurors to decide what evidence is to be accepted and what evidence is to be rejected.

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Roles and Functions

Jurors need to pay careful attention to each witness as he or she gives their evidence.

Jurors should not only listen to what the witnesses say but also how they say it.

How a witness presents to jurors and how he or she responds to questioning, especially in cross-examination, may assist jurors in deciding whether or not they accept what that witness was saying as truthful and reliable.

Roles and Functions

You are entitled to accept part of what a witness says and reject other parts of the evidence.

Each juror is to perform the function of a judge. Jurors are the judges of the facts and that means the verdict(s) will ultimately be the jurors decision.

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Roles and Functions

The judge will have no say in what evidence jurors accept or reject or what arguments and submissions of counsel jurors find persuasive.

Nor does the judge decide what verdict or verdicts jurors give in respect of any charge.

It is the jury’s responsibility to make that decision.

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Roles and Functions

The judge is the judge of law. During the trial the judge is required to ensure that all the rules of procedure and evidence are followed.

During the trial and at the end of the evidence, the judge will give jurors directions about the legal principles that are relevant to the case and will explain how they should be applied by the jurors to the issues which they have to decide.

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Roles and Functions

The judge may be required by law to warn jurors as to how they must approach certain types of evidence.

In performing your function as a juror you must accept and apply the law that comes from the judge.

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Nature of a Criminal Trial

A criminal trial occurs when the Crown alleges that a member of the community has committed a crime and the accused denies the allegation.

The trial is conducted on the basis that the parties determine the evidence to be placed before the jury and identify the issues that the jury needs to consider.

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The jury resolves the dispute by giving a verdict of guilty or not guilty of the crime or crimes charged. A criminal trial is not an investigation into the incidents surrounding the allegation made by the Crown and is not a search for the truth.

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Therefore neither the judge nor jury has any right to make investigations or inquiries of any kind outside the courtroom and independent of the parties.

The verdict must be based only upon an assessment of the evidence produced by the parties.

That evidence is to be considered dispassionately, fairly and without showing favour or prejudice to either party. The verdict based upon the evidence must be in accordance with the law.

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Role of Judge and Jury

The jury as a whole is to decide facts and issues arising from the evidence and ultimately to determine whether the accused is guilty of the crime or crimes charged in the indictment.

These decisions are based upon the evidence presented at the trial and the directions of law given by the judge.

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Before the jury is asked to deliberate on their verdict, counsel will make their own submissions and arguments based upon the evidence.

The jury must follow directions of law stated by the judge and take into account any warning given as to particular aspects of the evidence.

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Each juror is to act in accordance with the oath or affirmation made at the start of the trial to give “a true verdict in accordance with the evidence”.

A true verdict is not one based upon sympathy or prejudice or material obtained from outside the courtroom.

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The judge is responsible for the conduct of the trial by the parties.

The judge may be required to make decisions on questions of law throughout the trial including whether evidence sought to be led by a party is relevant.

The judge must ensure that the trial is fair and conducted in accordance with the law.

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The judge will give directions of law to the jury as to how they approach their task during their deliberations in a summing up before the jury commences its deliberations.

The judge does not determine any facts, resolve any issues raised by the evidence or decide the verdict.

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Jury Foreperson

The jury foreperson is the representative or spokesperson for the jury. He or she can be chosen in any way the jury thinks appropriate.

The main function of the foreperson is to deliver the verdict on behalf of the jury. Sometimes the jury chooses to communicate with the judge through a note from the foreperson.

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Jury Foreperson

The foreperson has no greater importance or responsibility than any other member of the jury in its deliberations.

The foreperson can be changed at any time.

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Onus and Standard of Proof

The Crown has the obligation of proving the guilt of the accused based upon the evidence placed before the jury.

This obligation continues throughout the whole of the trial.

The accused is not required to prove any fact or to meet any argument or submission made by the Crown.

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The accused is to be presumed innocent of any wrongdoing until a jury finds his or her guilt proved by the evidence in accordance with the law.

The Crown has to prove the essential facts or elements that go to make up the charge alleged against the accused. Each of the essential facts must be proved beyond reasonable doubt before the accused can be found guilty.

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Suspicion cannot be the basis of a guilty verdict nor can a finding that the accused probably committed the offence.

The accused must be given the benefit of any reasonable doubt arising about his or her guilt.

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No Discussions Outside Jury Room

A juror should not discuss the case or any aspect of it with any person other than a fellow juror. Any discussion by the jury about the evidence or the law should be confined to the jury room and only when all jurors are present.

This is because each member of the jury is entitled to know the views and opinions of every other member of the jury about the evidence and the law as the trial proceeds.

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No Discussions Outside Jury Room

Any discussion with a person other than a juror risks the opinions of a person, who has not heard the evidence, who has not heard arguments or submissions by counsel or who may not understand the applicable law, influencing the jury’s deliberations and perhaps ultimately the verdict given.

The opinions of a person who is not a juror are not only irrelevant but they are unreliable as they may depend upon prejudice or ignorance.

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Duties of a Juror to Report Irregularities

It is the duty of a juror to bring to the attention of the judge any irregularity that has occurred because of the conduct of fellow jurors during the course of the trial.

This should occur immediately the juror learns of the misconduct.

The matters to be raised include…

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1. The fact that a juror has been discussing the matter with a person who is not a juror or making inquiries outside the jury room

2. That a juror is refusing to participate in the jury’s functions

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3. That a juror is not apparently able to comprehend the English language

4. That a juror appears to lack the ability to be impartial

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Criminal Conduct by a Juror During/After Trial

It is a criminal offence for a juror to make any inquiry during the course of a trial for the purpose of obtaining information about the accused or any matters relevant to the trial.

The offence is punishable by a maximum of 2 years imprisonment.

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For this offence, “making any inquiry” includes:

1. Asking a question of any person

2. Conducting any research including the use of the internet

3. Viewing or inspecting any place or object

4. Conducting an experiment

5. Causing another person to make an inquiry.

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It is a criminal offence for a juror to disclose to persons other than fellow jury members any information about the jury’s deliberations or how a juror or the jury formed any opinion or conclusion in relation to an issue arising in the trial, including any statements made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast during the course of the jury’s deliberations.

The offence is punishable by a fine.

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It as a criminal offence for a juror or former juror, for a reward, to disclose or offer to disclose to any person information about the jury’s deliberations or how a juror or the jury formed any opinion or conclusion in relation to an issue arising in the trial, including any statements made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast during the course of the jury’s deliberations.

The offence is punishable by a fine.

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Media Reports

Members of the jury should ignore any reports of the proceedings of the trial by the media.

The report will obviously be a summary of the proceedings or some particular aspect of the evidence or arguments made by counsel.

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Media Reports

No importance should be attributed to that part of the evidence or any argument made simply because it happens to be reported in the media.

Sometimes the material reported will be taken out of the context of the trial as a whole and may not be fair or accurate.

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The Verdict

It is a fundamental principle that the jury must be free to deliberate without any pressure being brought to bear upon them.

All twelve jurors must, in the end, agree upon that verdict. It may be that the particular paths which lead each juror to that unanimous decision are not quite the same, but, nevertheless, the verdict of “guilty” or “not guilty” must be a unanimous verdict.

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The Verdict

In other words, provided that jurors agree that a particular verdict should be given, it does not matter that jurors do not agree as to why that particular verdict should be given.

In limited circumstances a judge may accept a majority verdict and the jury may be reduced to eleven jurors to effect a decision as a jury in the case.

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The Verdict

The judge has the power to discharge the Jury from giving a verdict but will only do so if satisfied that there is no likelihood of genuine agreement being reached after further deliberation.

Judges are usually reluctant to discharge a jury because experience has shown that juries can often agree if given more time to consider and discuss the issues.

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The Verdict

If there is still no likelihood of agreement, then, and only then, the foreperson must be examined on oath to establish that fact, before the jury can be discharged.

A retrial will likely then occur.

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Turnbull Hill Lawyers – Contact Us

If you have any further questions about jury duty or you'd like to discuss a related matter, please call:

Matthew Carney on 1800 994 279 or email him.

We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry within 24 hours.

Need Criminal Lawyers in NSW? Call UsWe service Newcastle & the Central Coast

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Jury Duty in NSW - A Complete Guide for Jurors

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