Judge or Jury? a legal conundrum
Abstract:
Jury trials have long been a cornerstone of common law and one of the essential liberties of a free country. There are times when the accused can elect for their case to be heard by a single judge or a jury and they will naturally make the decision that they feel will maximise their chance of an acquittal. In a non-jury trial, a judge has the responsibility for interpreting the relevant laws and, on occasions in higher level cases of importance, there may be a panel of judges, usually 3, 5, 7 or even 9. There are many points of view on the best option for the defendant and these are discussed at length. But there is also a scientific approach and the first part of this paper deals with the change in a probability of a decision based on the size of the judicial panel, along with whether it is in the best interests of an accused to elect a smaller panel or the largest possible. The second part considers the switch to unanimous rather than majority verdicts in cases and just who benefits.
Keyword:
jury, judge, law, probability, verdict