The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, has issued a warning of the need to preserve the integrity of jury trial and the jury system. The warning came in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division's Annual Review of the Legal Year 2010/11 published today (Friday 9 December).
Writing in his forward to the report, Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said:
"I remain concerned at the ease with which a member of the jury can, by disobeying the judge's instructions, discover material which purports to contain accurate information relevant to an individual case or an individual defendant. I am also concerned that the use of technology enables those who are not members of the jury to communicate, in both directions. In the context of current technology, we must be astute to preserve the integrity of jury trial and the jury system."
In three separate appeals last year convictions were found to be unsafe in the light of jury irregularities. Re-trials were ordered in two of those cases.
In two other cases the Court endorsed decisions made in the Crown Courts that the trials should proceed without a jury where there was a danger of jury tampering (R v Twomey) and where jury tampering had occurred (R v G & Others).
The report highlights the number of applications received by the Court:
- A two per cent decrease in the number of applications compared with the previous year (6,972 in 2010/11 compared with 7,133 in 2009/10).
The Court received 5,481 applications to appeal sentences (compared with 5,653 in 2009/10) and 1,491 applications to appeal convictions (compared with 1,480 in 2009/10). Other statistics published in the report show:
- In the legal year October 2010 – September 2011 the Court heard 535 full conviction appeals (compared with 488 the previous year) and 2,004 full sentence appeals (compared with 2,136 the previous year). In addition it dealt with 1,251 applications for leave to appeal conviction (compared with 1,114 the previous year) and 4,039 applications for leave to appeal sentence (compared with 4,110 the previous year).
- On average (taken over a three year period) 12.8% of conviction applications and 26% of sentence applications received are successful.
- The average time of cases disposed of by the Court over the previous 12 months was 9.3 months for conviction cases where leave to appeal was granted or the case referred to the full Court (compared with 10.1 months in 2009/10) and 4.6 months for sentence cases (compared with 5 months in 2009/10).
- The Attorney General referred 101 potentially unduly lenient sentences pursuant to section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (compared with 108 cases in 2009/10). Of those cases dealt with by the full Court, 82 resulted in an increase in sentence.
The Court has continued to make use of advances in technology to improve the efficiency of its work and reduce costs, especially the use of video-link facilities. Last year, the Court held 99 video-linked hearings to various locations including 35 prisons and six courts, appellants and witnesses to give evidence without having to come to the Royal Courts of Justice. In one case, two vulnerable child witnesses were able to give evidence from their local Magistrates' Court rather than having to travel to London.
An important role of the Court is to provide guidance to the lower courts on novel points of law or important matters of law and procedure. The Court is also able to draw attention to issues of concern within the criminal justice system. The report highlights a number of significant judgments:
- In R v Smith the Court made a number of important observations in relation to expert fingerprint evidence and raised questions as to independence and quality standards.
- In R v Smith; R v Clarke; R v Hall; R v Dodd - the Court gave guidance in relation to the making of sexual offences prevention orders ('SOPO').
- In R v Tariq Majeed –the Court stated that the fact that a victim of domestic violence had withdrawn her complaint was not compelling mitigation and that serious domestic violence called for substantial punishment even if the complainant made pleas for clemency.
- In R v Twist and Others – the Court provided detailed guidance as to the admissibility of text messages in evidence.
- In Attorney General's References Nos 73, 75 & 03 of 2010 - the Court increased sentences imposed for offences of rape and serious sexual offences perpetrated in the course of domestic burglary from eight to 15 years.
The Lord Chief Justice also praised the work of the Court's staff and acknowledged the exceptional levels of service they provide under constant pressure. He also highlighted the valuable role played by the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC), noting in particular the assistance which the Commission has provided to the Court by exercising its investigatory powers in cases involving jury irregularity.
ENDS
