The Jury: Murder Trial asks the pressing question of “whether or not the jury service is fit for the 21st century” – and the results will probably surprise you.
The Channel 4 series, which airs over four consecutive nights from Monday, February 26, 2024, re-enacts a real life murder trial. The purpose? To see if two different juries, faced with exactly the same evidence, will reach the same verdict.
And minutes into the legal experiment, you’ll start fearing the worst. So how are juries chosen? Why are some people exempt, and do jurors get paid?
Here’s everything you need to know about the jury service ahead of The Jury: Murder Trial…
The Jury: Murder Trial – can jurors doing jury service speak about the trial?
At the beginning of the new C4 series, it’s explained to viewers that no one really knows how juries work. Jurors are all sworn to secrecy, and there’s never any real insight into the discussions that go on behind closed doors.
We are told that some criminologists believe about a quarter of juries get it wrong. Which is frankly unnerving, when you think about criminals walking the streets, or innocent people behind bars.
While watching The Jury: Murder Trial, you may feel horrified as people’s prejudices and past experiences come into play. For example, one juror makes a disgusting comment about the murder victim because she has four children with different fathers. Impartial? I wouldn’t want him on my jury (if, you know, I ever commit a crime). But therein lies the rub. Can we trust the British public to make the right decision?
In real life, jurors are not allowed to discuss the trial with anyone until it’s finished. However, they are allowed to talk to other jury service members in the deliberation room. After the trial, they must not talk about what happened in the deliberation room, even with family members. Jurors are allowed to talk about what happened in the courtroom, though.
Who can do jury service, and how are people chosen?
Members of the public have their name chosen randomly from the electoral register. If you get a jury summons in the post, you must respond within seven days and confirm if you can attend. You must be on the electoral register to be called.
Anyone over 18 years old can be called for jury service. After 70, you can ask to be excluded.
The Jury: Murder Trial – how long does jury service take?
According to Gov.uk, jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days. If the trial is likely to last longer than 10 days, jury staff will let you know. If the trial is shorter than 10 days, you may be asked to be a juror on other trials.
You’ll usually need to be at court from 10am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, but times can vary.
What happens if a jury cannot agree on a verdict?
If the jury can’t reach a verdict (either guilty or not guilty), then the Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor has to decide whether or not to hold another trial.
The new trial would have to start afresh, hearing all the evidence again, with a brand new jury. If the second jury is also unable to reach a verdict, the judge may declare a mistrial. That basically means the trial is invalid.
In the event of a mistrial, the defendant is not convicted, but neither is the defendant acquitted. An acquittal results from a not guilty verdict and cannot be appealed by the prosecution, overturned by the judge, or retried. When there is a mistrial, however, the case may be retried.
The Jury: Murder Trial – who is exempt from being on jury service?
There are several circumstances in which someone would be exempt from jury service. For example, if you’re on bail, you cannot serve on a jury in the Crown Court. But you can serve on a jury in the High Court or a Coroner’s Court.
Having a criminal conviction doesn’t automatically rule you out of jury service. But you would be disqualified from serving on a jury if you were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life or for a term of five years of more in prison.
Other disqualifications include being placed on probation. You might be ineligible for jury service because of your job or the work you do. For example, people employed in administration of justice, barristers and solicitors (including those not currently practising), probation officers, and police officers.
Other people ineligible for jury service include those with a mental disorder, and those who don’t understand English. If you work in Parliament or in the Clergy, you can also decline to do jury service. Full time teachers can also refuse, as can pilots, doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, vets, and chemists. Nursing mums have a pretty valid excuse, too.
Why do jurors get dismissed?
In episode 3 of The Jury: Murder Trial, a member of the 24 jurors is dismissed. Blue jury member Ollie perhaps has his age to blame. At just 19, he is dismissed for not understanding the complexity of adult relationships.
He becomes convinced that it’s murder, and unable to see impartially.
Overall, prosecution or defence lawyers can ‘challenge’ a juror if they think they should not serve as a juror. However, they must give a good reason. If the judge accepts their reason, the person won’t be allowed to serve as a juror on that particular trial. But they could be called to serve on the jury in another case.
If a juror is caught discussing the case or posting about it on social media, they jeopardise their place on the jury. In fact, if a juror posts comments about a trial on social media – even after the trial is finished – that is classed as contempt of court. The juror can be fined or even sent to prison.
Do jurors get paid?
Jurors are not paid for doing jury service. But they can claim some money back if they lose earnings. They can also claim some expenses, for example travel.
If you are an employee, for each day in court, you can usually claim up to £64.95 to help cover your loss of earnings and the cost of any care or childcare outside of your usual arrangements. You can also claim £5.71 for food and drink, and the cost of travel to and from court.
Your employer has to give you time off work, once presented with a copy of your jury summons. However, they can ask you to delay your jury service if your absence will have a serious effect on their business.
Those on benefits will continue to get financial support (such as Universal Credit) for the first eight weeks. After that, the court will give you a loss of earnings form to give to your benefit office or work coach.
Read more: The Jury: Murder Trial – here’s where they filmed the legal experiment for Channel 4
The Jury: Murder Trial airs over four consecutive nights from Monday, February 26, 2024 at 9pm on Channel 4.
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