Unit 1, Lesson 4, Exercise E 1.7 Lecture 2
There is also the problem of jury selection. Sitting on a jury is both a right and a duty. Jurors are selected at random from people who are entitled to vote who are under the age of 70. The advantage of this is that, in theory, juries are composed of people who come from a very wide spectrum of society. Unfortunately, many people try to avoid their duty because they claim they are too busy at work or will lose their salary. As a result, juries, it is argued, have too many people with time, such as unemployed and retired people, to provide a good balance.
Let us go back to the role of the jury. In a trial, the jury’s function is to decide on the facts of the case. The jurors are there to determine the truth. However, many cases have a highly emotive element and this can, it is argued, sway the jury away from the facts.
Should emotion have a place in a court of law? Can a group of twelve ordinary men and women provide a fair trial and reach the correct verdict any better or worse than trained lawyers? The government is keen to abolish trial by jury for some crimes but surprisingly perhaps the legal profession is not. This, I think, is because we have an adversarial system where lawyers need to argue the case against each other.
Unit 1, Lesson 4, Exercise E 1.8 Lecture 3
The literal rule interprets words in their plain, ordinary dictionary meaning. This should mean that it is easier to come to a quick decision about what Parliament intended, as the word can be found in an easily available source. It also means that the judges should apply the words of Parliament. However, as we know, when you look up a word in a dictionary, it may still be open to wide interpretation.
The golden rule is a variation on the literal rule. When a word has multiple meanings, the judge selects one meaning that best fits the situation. In the Theft Act, section 1(1) states that ‘a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another’. The word property has many possible meanings and the judges have to interpret it in a way that best fits the situation in the case.
The court can also interpret a word so that the outcome of the trial is not unacceptable. In one
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case, a son would have benefited financially by murdering his mother. Under statute law, if a mother dies without making a will, the son must inherit. There is also a rule that no one can profit from their wrong. The court decided that using the literal rule would go against the wishes of Parliament and applied the golden rule instead.
The mischief rule looks at the law before the Act of Parliament was passed and what the Act was intended to change. Judges look at what mischief or wrongdoing Parliament intended to prevent rather than the exact words in the Act which might be open to interpretation.
Unit 1, Lesson 4, Exercise E 1.9 Lecture 4
Before the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066, most laws in England were imposed by local communities and were enforced in many different ways. There was what was known as trial by ordeal. A person accused of a crime was given a piece of red hot metal to hold and if his hand burnt he was declared guilty! William attempted to impose the French codified legal system after 1066. This was not entirely successful and many laws were still only locally enforced. However, in 1154 Henry II created a unified system of law that was common to the whole country. This did away with these local differences and created a more powerful court system. It took some time for this system to work but since 1189, a date that is often referred to as ‘time immemorial’, English law has been described as a common law rather than a civil law system. When King John came to the throne he tried to assert the absolute power of the monarch over the existing legal system. He introduced higher taxes because in 1204 he had lost his lands in France and as a result a sizeable part of his income. This angered the powerful barons and eventually King John was forced to sign a document known as the Magna Carta in 1215. This was extremely significant in English legal history as it established the principle that there should be no imprisonment without trial. This is an issue that is still debated heatedly almost 800 years later.
Unit 1, Lesson 4, Exercise E 1.10 Lecture 5
Solicitors are not generally thought of as advocates. However, increasing numbers of solicitors are now becoming Higher Court
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