The Jury

The jury has a long history within the English legal system, al­though its role has changed significantly during that time. Ori­ginally, members of the jury were witnesses¹. Today, they are a group of twelve ordinary people with no special knowledge, chosen at random to act as impartial² judges of the facts of a case. In a jury trial, the jury is advised by the trial judge on the relevant³ law; that is, the judge's function is to explain the law to the jury and ensure that the trial is conducted according to the rules of procedure and evidence. The function of the jury is then to apply the law to the facts and then decide, in criminal cases, whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty and, in civil cases, whether the defendant is lia­ble to the plaintiff. The decision of a jury is called a verdict⁴. The juries do not need to give reasons for their verdict. In civil cases the jury will also decide on the amount of damages to be awarded to the plaintiff.

«Shadow» («теневой») juries are sometimes used to research the adequacy of the jury system; a random group of twelve people sits in the court and hears a case and reaches a verdict which is then compared to the verdict of the real jury.

Although the jury continues to have much symbolic importance in the English legal system, in practice its role has been greatly dimished⁵ over recent years.