Are juries fair?

Have been meaning to blog this for a little while - Cheryl Thomas’ intensive research into juries has mostly reaffirmed people’s faith in the jury system. However, the same research shows that, in one court, that only 31% of jurors understood the judge’s directions on the criteria for self-defence, which is rather worrying.

On a more positive note, the research finds that juries are in general fair and not racist. They are also effective, failing to reach a verdict only 1% of the time.

However, juries are also inconsistent - for example, defendants are16% more likely to be convicted in Teesside than in Swansea. Worries also exist about internet use by jurors, with three Crown Court trials having juries discharged due to this in 2008.