Jury Directions

The jury is an important part of the system of criminal justice in this country. Jury trials allow the community to play an important and direct role in the administration of justice.

Justice requires that juries deliver their verdict in accordance with the law, based on the evidence led at the trial. In order to do this, juries must be properly instructed as to legal principles which are, or may be, relevant to determining the particular facts of the case and the application of the law to those facts.

The Law Council is of the view that:

  • Legislatures should not attempt to codify the law in respect of jury warnings and directions or attempt to reduce the law to one piece of legislation. While every attempt should be made to ensure that legal principles are communicated to juries in a consistent and comprehensible manner, the trial judge must be provided with the flexibility necessary to tailor the particular directions to the specific circumstances of the case.
  • Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the trial judge to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial. The fact that defence counsel at trial has not objected to a direction given by the judge to the jury (or a failure to give a direction) is relevant to the question of whether or not an appeal on the basis of mis-direction should be allowed, but it should never be determinative.
  • There are a number of alternative ways that the efficacy of the criminal trial process could be improved:
    • Improved judicial education;
    • Improved training of prosecutors;
    • Higher levels of legal aid funding to ensure the quality of defence representation.

Materials

Years: 2010 , 2009

2010

2009