In the simplest of terms, a ‘Jury’ is
a group of Australian Citizens (Who have been selected by the government from
the Electoral Roll) to attend Courts such as the District Court NSW or the
Supreme Court NSW and hear a particular case and decide (for example in Criminal
Trials) whether a person is guilty or whether a person is not guilty of an
offence. In a Criminal Trial, a Jury usually consists of 12 Jurors.
But Jurors are not just limited to
Criminal matters!
Did you know that some Coronial
inquests as well as large Civil Law cases are also heard by a Jury?
Juries deciding Civil cases consist
of (generally) of four members, however it should be noted that Civil Trials
conducted in the Supreme Court NSW can be comprised of 12 Jurors.
Most Criminal trials in NSW are decided
by a Jury. Whilst most criminal trials are made up of 12 jurors sometimes
juries of 15 are empanelled in Trials which are expected to last longer than
three months.
How is a Jury Empanelled?
A Jury is empanelled inside the court
room. Each Juror is given a number and the numbers are selected at random. If a
person’s number is called by the Court Officer in the Court room, that person
will then make their way to one of the Jury Chairs. Once 12 numbers have been
called by the Court officer, the defence and the prosecution can ‘challenge’
up to three Jurors.
It should be noted that if there are
co-accused who are charged together, each co-accused can challenge
three (potential) Jurors who have been called. In the state of NSW, no
information such as the age of the person or their profession is to be provided
to the parties. Once the Jury numbers have been called and once the jury has
been selected, everyone else who has attended Jury Duty and who remains in the
court room because their number has not been called will be dismissed.
Jurors who Misbehave.
Misbehaviour of a Juror can lead to a
juror being charged with Contempt of Court. Jurors who do not act properly can
lead to a mistrial.
What is a ‘Challenge’?
It is an objection which can be
raised by either the defence lawyer or prosecutor to persons summoned to be Jurors.
When a person is ‘challenged’ that particular person will not be part of the
Jury Panel. The defence or the crown can have a variety of reasons with respect
to challenging a Juror.
The Process of Jury Selection:
1.
Jurors are
selected by a Court Officer (Sherriff) at random.
2.
A summons
will be issued by the sheriff to each person who has been selected
3.
After the
summons is issued, the person named in the summons must attend and appear at
the specified Location and time per the summons.
4.
Upon
attendance, the Sherriff will ask the person to provide their identification,
name, details etc.
5.
Once the
person provides the sheriff with the identification information, the sheriff
will give that person an identification number.
6.
Jury
Selection is by way of ballot and once the Juror is provided with their
identification number, the presiding Judge (or an officer of the court) will
place all cards which contains the jury’s ID numbers in a Box.
7.
Cards will
be drawn out and one by one, and after each number is drawn out, the Jury
number will be called out.
8.
Every time
a Juror is challenged by the defence lawyer or the prosecutor, another number
will be Drawn, and the Jury number will be called out.
9.
This entire
process will go on until the requisite number of jury is reached.
10.
Each Juror
(who’s number has been called) will be called to be sworn.
Persons who cannot serve as a Juror.
The following people do NOT qualify AND
cannot serve as a juror:
- The
Governor,
- A Judicial
Officer,
- A Coroner,
- A member
or officer of the Executive Council,
- A member
of the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly,
- Officers
and other staff of either or both of the Houses of Parliament,
- An
Australian lawyer (whether or not an Australian legal practitioner),
- 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,
- The
Ombudsman and a Deputy Ombudsman,
- A person
who at any time has been a Judicial Officer,
- A person
who is unable to read or understand English, and
- A person
who is unable, because of sickness, infirmity or disability, to discharge
the duties of juror.
- A person
who at any time 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 (not being detention merely for failure to pay a
fine),
- A person
who at any time within the last 10 years in NSW or elsewhere has served
any part of a sentence of imprisonment (not being imprisonment merely for
failure to pay a fine),
- A person
who is currently bound by an order made in NSW or elsewhere for a criminal
charge or conviction, not including an order for compensation, but
including the following:
- a
parole order, a community service order, an apprehended violence order or
an order disqualifying the person from driving a motor vehicle,
- an
order committing the person to prison for failure to pay a fine,
- a good behaviour
bond, a remand in custody pending trial or sentence and a release on bail
pending trial or sentence.
Can a person who is qualified to serve as a Juror apply
for an exemption?
A person can apply for an exemption pursuant
to section 7 of the Jury Act 1977 and it should be
noted that the following persons, as listed in Schedule 3, can
claim exemption:
- Clergy,
- Vowed
members of any religious order,
- Practicing
Dentists,
- Practicing
Pharmacists
- Practicing
Medical Practitioners
- Pregnant
women,
- A person
who has the care, custody, and control of children under the age of 18
years,
- Mining
managers and under-managers of mines,
- 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,
- Persons
who are at least 70 years old,
- A person
who resides with, and has full-time care of, a person who is sick, infirm
or disabled,
- A person
who resides more than 56 kilometres from the place at which the person is
required to serve,
- A person
who:
- served
as a juror within the last three years
- within
the last 12 months attended court in accordance with a summons and who
was prepared, but did not, serve as a juror.
- A person
who is entitled to be exempted under s 39 on account of previous lengthy
jury sentence.
It is very important that you speak
with a lawyer so that you can get the appropriate legal advice which you
require prior to going to court.
Our team of experienced solicitors are there for you and can
help you answer all your questions, so be sure to contact Nicopoulos Sabbagh Lawyers.
*This article correctly reflects
the Laws of NSW as at 11TH October 2022.
*Please
note that this page or any other pages on our website (including any other
social media platforms for Nicopoulos Sabbagh Lawyers) are not to be considered
as a substitute for legal advice or even other professional advice. It should
also be noted that accessing of this information from this website does not create a client-lawyer
relationship.