‘It’s The Law’ – Considerations of a jury

Jury duty

Many Wimmera residents will have either been called for jury duty or know someone who has served on a jury or will probably be called in the future. In this article I will explain what a jury is, how a jury is selected and what to expect if you are called to serve on a jury.

What is a jury

A jury is a group of community members used to decide court cases. Juries are most commonly used in criminal trials but also occasionally in civil trials (such as a breach of contract claim). Each year approximately 25,000 people attend court for jury service in Victoria, with approximately 6,500 serving as jurors on around 600 trials.

How a jury is selected

Juries Victoria sends thousands of people a notice of selection for jury service in the mail, with a short questionnaire designed to determine whether the individual is eligible to take part. The questionnaire can be completed online.

A summons for jury service is sent to eligible people and people without a good reason to be excused, two-three weeks before the date they need to attend court.

What to expect if you are called to serve on a jury

There might be up to 150 people attending court for jury service. From these groups, called a jury pool, people are chosen at random to form smaller groups called jury panels. It is a jury panel that is taken into a courtroom for the final step in the jury selection process.  Once a jury is selected, the trial begins immediately.

The trial

If you are selected for the trial, the Judge will explain the trial process and the jury’s role. The Judge will usually explain how the jury should assess evidence including the credibility of witnesses.

The jury will likely be asked to select a foreperson who acts as a spokesperson for the jury when the jury delivers its verdict and if the jury has questions during the trial.

A lawyer for each party (the Crown and the accused in criminal cases and the plaintiff and the defendant in civil cases) will give an opening address to the jury. The opening address aims to provide the jury with an understanding of the evidence that will be given throughout the trial.

Each party will ask their witnesses questions to obtain evidence and the other party will have the opportunity to cross examine these witnesses.

Once all the evidence has been heard the parties’ lawyers will make their closing addresses in which they each state how the evidence suits their position in relation to the disputed facts. The judge may summarise the lawyers’ final addresses and may make some directions about how some of the evidence is to be assessed by the jury.

The jury will then consider and discuss the case together in the jury room. The jury must reach a unanimous verdict unless the judge tells them otherwise.

The judge will then call everyone back into the courtroom where the foreperson will give the verdict.

In the Wimmera there can often been issues with jury members knowing the parties involved or the witnesses. If you do know someone involved in the trial, you should let the Judge know as soon as possible.

This article was written using information on the Juries Victoria website at: https://www.juriesvictoria.vic.gov.au/individuals/serving-on-a-jury and on the Courts Victoria website at : https://courts.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/jurors_handbook.pdf. Both websites have further detail which may be of interest to you.

Patrick Smith is the principal of O’Brien & Smith Lawyers.

This article is intended to be used as a guide only. It is not, and is not intended to be, advice on any specific matter. Neither Patrick nor O’Brien & Smith Lawyers accept responsibility for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance upon the content of this article. Before acting on the basis of any material in this article, we recommend that you consult your lawyer.