US v Dougherty 1972 - William Shakespeare - Hiller B Zobel - Swordplay online - Neil deGrasse Tyson - Justice Tom C Clark - Lord Mansfield - Holt L C J - The Strange Case of the Law TV - John Grisham - The Jury vs O J Simpson TV - Monty Python’s Flying Circus TV - Runaway Jury 2003 - The Juror 1966 -
The pages of history shine on instances of the jury’s exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge. US v Dougherty 1972
The jury, passing on the prisoner’s life,
May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two
Guiltier than him they try. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure II i 17
Asking the ignorant to use the incomprehensible to decide the unknowable. Hiller B Zobel, The Jury on Trial, 1995
Three jurors in the 1993 trial of Stephen Young for two counts of murder were unable to make up their minds over the defendant’s guilt or innocence. They sought help by using a Ouija Board to commune with one of Mr Young’s victims. The spirit of Henry Fuller duly appeared. Fuller had been killed with his wife Nicola, and in his ghostly reincarnation Henry confirmed that Young was the pair’s killer. ‘Vote guilty tomorrow,’ was his instruction, via the Ouija board. Young was convicted – and re-convicted at the retrial for the inevitable ‘material irregularity’ in the first proceedings. Swordplay online, Top Ten Mad Jury Moments #1
An Australian drugs trial lasting more than three months and costing taxpayers over A$1 million was abandoned after a number of the jurors were found to have spent much of their time engaged in Sudoku puzzles. The judge had a feeling that all was not as it should be when he noticed that some jurors were writing notes vertically rather than horizontally, but one juror insisted that devotion to Sudoku was actually beneficial to justice: ‘Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time’, she was reported to have told Australian Associated Press. ibid. #2
Just as the verdict in the trial of Alan Rashid was about to be announced, a juror coughed and in the process drowned out the word ‘Not’. The judge heard only ‘Guilty’ and duly jailed Rashid for two years and had him escorted to the cells. Fortunately, the blunder was swiftly noted, and Rashid, who had been disconsolate, was set free. ibid. #9
A woman witness was giving evidence [in an indecency case] and was asked what the man in the dock had said to her. She was too embarrassed to repeat it in open court, so the judge asked her to write it down. She did, and what she wrote was ‘Would you care for a screw?’ This document was passed around the jury until it reached juror number 12, an elderly gentleman who was fast asleep. Sitting next to him was a fairly personable young lady. She read the note, nudged her neighbour and, when he was awake, handed it to him. He woke with a start, read it and, with apparent satisfaction, folded it and put it away carefully in his wallet. When the judge said, ‘Let that be handed up to me,’ the juryman shook his head and replied, ‘It’s a purely private matter, my Lord.’ ibid. #10, cited Professor Gary Slapper, How the Law Works
In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, ‘I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?’ I answer, ‘Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe – the Big Bang, Black Holes, that sort of thing.’ Then he asks, ‘What do you teach at Princeton?’ and I say, ‘I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.’ Five minutes later, I’m on the street.
A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, ‘Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime. Again I’m out on the street. Neil deGrasse Tyson
In the ultimate analysis, only the jury can strip a man of his liberty or his life. Justice Tom C Clark, Irvin v Dowd, 366 US 717, 722 1961
The jury cannot find evidence: they must find facts. Lord Mansfield, Rex v Royce 1766 4 Burr Part IV p2077
The constitution trusts, that, under the direction of a Judge, they will not usurp a jurisdiction which is not in their province. They do not know, and are not presumed to know the law; they are not sworn to decide the law; they are not required to decide the law. If it appears upon the record, they ought to leave it there, or they may find the facts subject to the opinion of the Court upon the law. But further, upon the reason of the thing, and the eternal principles of justice, the jury ought not to assume the jurisdiction of the law. As I said before, they do not know, and are not presumed to know anything of the matter; they do not understand the language in which it is conceived, or the meaning of the terms. They have no rule to go by but their affections and wishes. It is said, if a man gives a right sentence upon hearing one side only, he is a wicked Judge, because he is right by chance only, and has neglected taking the proper method to be informed; so the jury who usurp the judicature of law, though they happen to be right, are themselves wrong, because they are right by chance only, and have not taken the constitutional way of deciding the question. It is the duty of the Judge, in all cases of general justice, to tell the jury how to do right, though they have it in their power to do wrong, which is a matter entirely between God and their own consciences. Lord Mansfield, R v Shipley 1784, 3 Doug 170
Our trials by juries are of such consideration in our law that we allow their determination to be best and most advantageous to the subject; and therefore less evidence is required than by the civil law. So said Fortescue in his commendation of the laws of England. Holt, L C J, Vaughan’s Case 1696, 13 How St Tr 535
By the late 13th century juries were a familiar part of English law. The Strange Case of the Law I: The Story of English Justice: Laying Down the Law, BBC 2012
The jury: the institution that most defines English justice. ibid.
Because I love it. It’s what being a lawyer is all about. Being in the courtroom, in front of a jury, is like being in the arena, or on the field. The competition is fierce. The stakes are high. The gamesmanship is intense. There will be a winner and loser. There is a rush of adrenalin each time the jury is led in and seated. John Grisham, Sycamore Row
Down at the courthouse they’re calling it the Juror Revolt. The People vs O J Simpson: American Crime Story VIII, Marsha to expert, FX 2016
Three cheers for the defendant! … For he’s a jolly good fellow … Monty Python’s Flying Circus s3e1, jury to defendant guilty of murder, BBC 1972
We love fat women, people. Tight-fisted, unsympathetic, I want her on my jury. Runaway Jury 2003 starring John Cusack & Gene Hackman & Dustin Hoffman & Rachel Weisz & Jeremy Piven & Bruce Davidson & Bruce McGill & Marguerite Moreau & Nick Searcy & Leland Orser et al, director Gary Fleder, Fitch
Can you smell that? Furniture polish, cheap cologne and body odour. ibid. Fitch in court
Trials are too important to be left up to juries. ibid. Fitch to gun manufacturers
Never before has a jury found the gun industry liable for murder. ibid. television news
I’m in it to win. Just like you are. ’Cause that’s what I was hired to do. Everything else is coloured bubbles. ibid. Fitch to Rohr
I’m caught in a bird-cage. The Juror 1996 starring Demi Moore & Alec Baldwin & James Gandolfini & Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Lindsay Crouse & Anne Heche & Tony Lo Bianco & Michael Rispoli et al, director Brian Gibson, gangsta to her
All you have to do is wait. That’s all. And then somebody is going to contact you to say two words ... Not Guilty. ibid.