JURIES AND TELESCOPES

Today`s opinions for what they`re worth are from the viewpoint of an interested outsider and not as those of a retired magistrate.  An area where outsiders and the law interact without detriment to the former is in jury service.  Personally I have never served as a juror but for those who do especially in cases of acute public interest the pressures must be considerable  especially if their backgrounds are such where there has been no need to exercise higher intellectual functions.  In typical British fashion there has been virtually no research into how a jury functions.  All that academics can do is to analyse results and their aftermath. Such limitations were available for all to see in the cases of  PAUL YUSUFF,  MATTHEW YUSUFF  and  MOUSSA TRAORE. To quote from the matter heard on 27/3/2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE KING'S BENCH  DIVISION DIVISIONAL COURT and available here in full the jury spokesperson made a mistake on telling the court the jury`s verdicts.  The ramifications of this situation must be having or at least should have major second thinking at the MOJ as to how to prevent a further similar happening and that the "untouchable" workings of juries must be set aside in favour of properly funded academic research.  What immediately comes to my mind is that the jury`s findings should be written and signed by all jurors and handed to the judge before the pronouncement is made.  In the event of confusion that confusion could be rectified by the judge and clerk of the court before before any public "misspeaking". 

The other major legal event in recent weeks  was new guidelines from the Sentencing Council on Domestic Homicide Sentencing. For what it`s worth I do think said body is looking at the law through the wrong end of the telescope.  Thankfully the unlawful killing of another is still a relatively rare event in this country and domestic homicide whilst a dreadful crime with widespread ramifications for any family is also relatively low in the UK.  Perhaps Mr, Mrs and Miss Person in the street would rather that criminal activities on their doorsteps or high streets were in the sights of the Council in its efforts to use sentencing as a deterrent and punishment.  However with almost every day bringing news that more and more offenders who deserve immediate custody not being jailed owing to there being no prison accommodation and others being released with ever increasing remission I see no more prospect of that than I do of a much needed increase of police officers actually on our streets and new police stations being opened or re opened where they are actually needed i.e. on our high streets.  Meanwhile the Sentencing Guidelines despite denials look increasingly as if they are ripe for computerisation at least in the early stages of determining the seriousness of an offence but that is a topic for another day.