What is the role of Juries in Criminal cases?
The role of juries is to make factual determinations. It is the role of the judge to make legal determinations. For example, if it is disputed if the Defendant was in town the night of a murder and evidence is presented proving he was in town and evidence that he was not, that is for the jury to determine. However, if there is a legal dispute regarding the admissibility of evidence, that is for the judge to determine as a matter of law.
What information do you want to know specifically? Trial by Jury is one of the oldest systems of law which the Roman and then the British Empire passed around the world on it’s travels in and around all the countries they founded / conquered / destroyed / whatever we did in that particular place! It is the entitlement to a hearing in front of a group of your “peers” – i.e. random people selected from the electoral role in the area in which the crime was committed. The exact nature of this and the eligibility of the prospective jurors varies from country to country across the world. Jury cases are heard only in Crown Courts, not in Magistrates. They may also be used in Coroners Courts, but rarely in Civil Courts. The jury is there to decide on the facts of the case, and to decide on the strength of the evidence placed in front of them by the prosecution and the defence, whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. This must be done in accordance with the legislation which is put in fr
The Juries are the people that decide weather the defendant is guilty or not guilty. The judge is just there for the people to address and present their defence to. The Jury is made up of random civilians that do not know the defendant and haven’t been called to a case before, everyone is normally called once in there life to become a jury.
In a criminal case, there is a Judge who is paid about $100,000 per year to hear the arguments. The arguments are made by lawyers who probably get $200 per hour to do so. Juries are paid about $20 per day to make all the hard decisions. Why we call it a “justice” system is another question entirely.
