The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, speaking at the Criminal Bar Association’s Kalisher lecture, called today for the legal system to trust the common sense of British Juries.
In his address, Lord Phillips, announced the establishment of a working party, led by Lord Justice Latham, which will examine simplifying the legal directions judges give to juries. Do they need over complex directions, or should they be trusted to use their common sense?
Lord Phillips said: “I have been concerned at the number of directions that are given to juries that are no more than matters of common sense. Most judges are familiar with seeing jurors’ eyes glaze over as they give a series of directions the object and effect of which is not to simplify the jurors’ task, but to protect against an appeal on the grounds of misdirection.”
Legislation and case law have already increased the trust placed in juries. These changes include:
- allowing the jury to draw inferences from a defendant’s refusal to give evidence
- the inclusion of hearsay evidence from witnesses who, for a variety of reasons, can not have their evidence tested in court
- the admissibility of a defendant’s bad character to correct a false impression, or to provide important explanatory evidence.
Lord Phillips said: “Each of these steps has marked a tendency to place greater trust in the ability of the jury to apply common sense to relevant evidence… and be trusted to give it no more weight than it deserves. These changes have moved us away from a criminal system that seemed to weight the scales of justice in favour of the defence.”
Note for Editors
- The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, is giving his speech, “Trusting the Jury” at the Criminal Bar Association’s Kalisher lecture on 23 October 2007 at 5:15pm.
- The Kalisher Scholarship, which was set up in 1996 in the memory of Michael Kalisher QC, is a unique charity which funds two talented students through their Bar Vocational Course each year. Such a scholarship, which allows talented students to continue with their studies when they might otherwise be lost to the Criminal Bar, is vital at a time of continued pressure on the junior end of the Criminal Bar. The Kalisher Scholarship is awarded to outstanding students from the BVC providers on a rotating basis. This years Kalisher Scholar is Brendan O’Leary; the Kalisher Cloth Fair Scholar is Emma Duckett, and a Bursary was awarded to Peter Harthan. All of this year’s recipients were drawn from Manchester Metropolitan University.
- This year's winner of the Kalisher Essay Competition, who will receive her award from the Lord Chief Justice following the Kalisher Lecture, is Sarah Przybylska, of 2 Hare Court. The joint second prizes were awarded to Billal Malik, of 3 Raymond Buildings and Leonie Hurst, of Tooks Chambers.
The essays are of 2,000 words each, and the essay this year was set as follows:
“You have betrayed this country which has given you every opportunity” (Sir Michael Astill, R v Khan and others, Central Criminal Court, May 2007).
"At what stage should the terrorist lose those opportunities? At sentence or upon suspicion?".
- The Criminal Bar Association represents Criminal Barristers in England and Wales, and works to ensure that the public receives high quality service from the Criminal Bar, at all levels and from both prosecution and defence practitioners; it represents over 2000 barristers, and is a specialist strand of the Bar Council.
- For more information on the Criminal Bar Association, please see its website; for more information on the Kalisher Scholarship, please contact Camilla Barker on 0207 067 0330.
- If you would like a copy of the speech, embargoed until delivery, please contact Darren Horsman, at the Judicial Communications Office, on 020 7947 6490, or email Press Enquiries
