Jury Recommendations Benefit Victims

28 February 2001

Victims will benefit if the Law Commission’s recommendations are implemented in legislation said Steve Caldwell, Victim Support’s Chief Executive today.

A “hung” jury can be devastating for a victim or the family of a homicide victim and results in further revictimisation. There is no sense of closure for victims and their families and they then have to sit through the same process again, often having to listen to a defence counsel portray their loved one in an unfavourable manner and attempting to suggest that the victim could have contributed to causing the offence. A majority verdict will, at least reduce the potential of a ‘hung’ jury, Mr Caldwell said.

Likewise, with advances in technology, the evidence presented at many trials in today’s world is increasingly complex and thus difficult for many to understand; both in terms of its meaning and also its significance when returning a guilty or not guilty verdict. The suggestion that; some cases be tried by Judge alone will assist in overcoming this difficulty, however, to reduce the risk of miss-trials Victim Support is of the view that a panel of Judges would be more appropriate in these circumstances.

Victims and their families are also more likely to accept the outcomes of a trial when they perceive that the composition of the jury is more balanced. At present, the principle of trial by jury meaning that the verdict of “guilty” or “not guilty” being made by the accused’s peers is more a fallacy than a reality when the pool of jurors is often limited because people cannot obtain leave from employment or cannot afford the financial loss that jury service would bring. Mr Caldwell said that the recommendations reducing the need for citizens to seek exemption from jury duty will assist in ensuring a better balance.

Mr Caldwell commented that jurors can also experience emotional harm similar to that experienced by victims, and while acknowledging the provision for counselling as appropriate, Mr Caldwell was disappointed that the Law Commission did not consider that debriefing should be required after every serious trial. Talking about the experience in a safe environment as soon as possible after the event is much more effective in preventing later stress responses and Mr Caldwell urges the Law Commission to reconsider the usefulness of debriefing following a serious trial to reduce the potential for jurors to also become victims of a crime.